Down The Tubes – 4 Star Book Review

Welcome to one of the April 24th stops on the blog tour for Down the Tubes by Kate Rigby, organized by Rachel’s Random Resources. Be sure to follow the rest of this your for spotlights and other reviews.

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About the Book

Down The Tubes
by Kate Rigby

Published 28 March 2011

Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Page Count: 159
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

A hard-hitting novel based on the author’s experience of working in the field of addictions.

It’s the late 1980s and mother of four, Cheryl West, lands herself a job at a drugs project in London. But memories of her old life are never far away, especially when her surly daughter, Elaine, makes her unwelcome visits. 

Meanwhile, Cheryl’s estranged son, Michael aka Dodo – is ironically having his life destroyed by drug addiction in his attempt to avoid painful memories of abuse. He goes from one chaotic situation to another, ending up on the streets and reaching rock bottom, until he is referred to a drug rehabilitation centre in rural Hampshire where dark family secrets are uncovered.

They’re each on a journey, but can there be reconciliation as well as rehabilitation?

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My Review

My Rating: 4 Stars
Consider liking my review on Goodreads.

I was granted complimentary access to Down the Tubes as part of my participation in a blog tour for this title with Rachel’s Random Resources. Thank you to all involved in affording me this opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

Dow the Tubes is a beautifully raw and hard-hitting story of some very messed up people trying to live their broken lives together, and it will chew you up and spit you out the other end an emotional wreck! Cheryl feels trapped by motherhood and wants to find fulfilment in something, anything else. Michael has not found any love or peace in life until he looks into his own daughter’s eyes. What will happen when Michael and Cheryl, estranged mother and son, cross paths again?

Trigger warnings for sexual abuse, child abuse, child abandonment, drug use.

The characters in this book and their struggles feel so vividly real, no doubt in part because this is a very realistic and sadly too-common series of events that actually plays out in the real world, but also because the author has an amazing level of skill in crafting layered, deeply empathetic characters. You don’t have to love and connect with both to empathize with them and see how they got here.

I think because a lot of details about these characters and their pasts hit too close to home for me I can’t truly judge whether or not this is an easy read and properly figure out how emotionally charged this book might feel for an average reader, and because of that I’m honestly conflicted on whether this deserves the 4 I’m leaning toward or a 5. Consider this a very high 4!

If you like contemporary fiction that makes you feel all the feels, read this book.

About the Author

Kate Rigby was born near Liverpool and now lives in the south west of England.  She’s been writing for over forty years. She has been traditionally published, small press published and indie published.

​She realized her unhip credentials were mounting so she decided to write about it. Little Guide to Unhip was first published in 2010 and has since been updated.

​However, she’s not completely unhip. Her punk novel, Fall Of The Flamingo Circus was published by Allison & Busby (1990) and by Villard (American hardback 1990). Skrev Press published her novels Seaview Terrace (2003) Sucka! (2004) and Break Point (2006) and other shorter work appeared in Skrev’s avant garde magazine during the noughties.

​Thalidomide Kid was published by Bewrite Books (2007).

​Her novel Savage To Savvy was an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) Quarter-Finalist in 2012.

Other novels of hers have received various Independent Author Awards, including Awesome Indie Awards and Chill With A Book Readers Awards.

​She has had other short stories published and shortlisted including Hard Workers, published in three different publications.

​A shortened version of her blog as a tribute to David Bowie after his death was included in the book: ‘David Bowie: I Was There’ (Red Planet Books 2017) 

​She also writes poetry and is currently co-editing an anthology for other poets with disabilities and long term health problems.

She also received a Southern Arts bursary for her novel Where A Shadow Played (now re-Kindled as Did You Whisper Back?).

She has re-Kindled her backlist and is gradually getting her titles (back) into paperback.

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