by Tim Lebbon

Dreaming in Fire Press, out March 10

The true story of the horrors one man can voluntarily put himself through. And cake.

Three words. That’s all it took to turn Tim Lebbon’s life around.

“I got fit.”

Words that would normally elicit a “good for you, mate” response from most people, possibly – if they thought about it further – a few words of commiseration for their significant other (or if Michael Crawford’s anecdote about how his sex life improved while he was preparing for the physicality of playing Barnum is true, a few inner jealous thoughts). What the majority of people do not do is decide that they’re going to do the same thing and let themselves in for a decade of running, swimming and cycling that will see them tread in bear shit, swallow horrible water (regularly), get lost on mountains… and then have the sense of triumph that comes when we overcome adversity.

This book is part-memoir, part-celebration, part pure horror. Lebbon has a gift for creating atmosphere with a few words in his fiction writing, and he brings that to bear in this autobiographical work – you’re with him at the freezing cold start of an Ironman, next to him (without of course breaking the rules about such things) as he perseveres through another lap even as others faster than him are reaching the end, sharing his joie de vivre as he goes for a run in the countryside.

It’s an inspirational work – as he regularly points out, if he can do it, then pretty much anyone can – and there’s a lot of humour (I burst out laughing even while wincing at his description of certain chafing and his daughter’s misunderstanding of the relevant terminology).

There’s also quite a lot of cake.

Verdict: A highly engaging, enjoyable and inspirational short book – highly recommended. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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