Cliff Edwards
REAL LIFE
Cliff Edwards, a 42 year old TV journalist, was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the third child in a Roman Catholic family of six children. As part of the Burgher race of mixed European and Asian descent, the family joined the exodus of the mid 1960s to escape a cultural revolution in the first two decades after Sri Lanka’s Independence, eventually settling in a town in the North East of England. The only non-white people among 25,000, racism was rife, though his family never talked about their individual experiences outside the four walls of their home.
Cliff worked for a variety of regional newspapers from the age of 19 before freelancing at The Sun in Wapping and Manchester. He moved into TV in 1995, working both as an on-screen reporter and on the news desk at his regional TV station.
Real Life is Cliff's first book, though he has also written poetry and a play.
After he had interviewed ANNE FINE for TV, she discovered he had a manuscript tucked away in a drawer. Eventually, in 2001, she became the first person to read his novel, pronouncing it “brilliant”, “extraordinary” and describing him as a “natural psychologist” who “understood women”. She said it was a satisfying read because all the questions were answered.
Anne herself subsequently edited it and gave it its title.
The book is now offered to publishers for the first time.
Part One of Real Life is based very loosely on the author’s early life. James is a sensitive soul, shy, vulnerable, loving but desperate: deeply troubled by being different because of the colour of his skin.
Each chapter comprises up to four separate short stories about James at the ages of seven, fourteen and twenty-one – like the protagonists in the TV series Seven Up, 14 Up, 21 Up, we come to know him as a lifelong friend. Thus we establish a close, almost symbiotic relationship with him. Observing the development of his character during this span, we are able to predict how the 21-year old will react.
“Show me the boy and I’ll show you the man.”
Part Two opens with James waking up confused, perhaps from a dream about early childhood. He realises to his utter sadness that he is older and more mature but unhappy. He is 38 and his wife is sleeping next to him. He has fallen out of love with her. As with so many people, things have gone badly wrong; his dreams are unfulfilled.
We are taken on the contemporary journey of his failing marriage, his affair, his desperate but glorious love for his child, his fading career. And we know why he is making his decisions, why he is misunderstood – we have a rare chance to understand a man totally.
We’ve seen what makes him tick.
