BOOK REVIEW: Blitz Pams by John Orton
by David Hall
The wartime bombing of South Shields is brought to life by John Orton as he pens this fictional tale of a 16-year-old boy who becomes a Police Auxiliary Messenger – racing round the bombstrewn area on his bicycle carrying messages from one centre to another when the telephones are not working.
While the storyline is fictional the events recorded actually happened and the drama and horror is highlighted.
If there is one problem it is the attempt to write in the local dialect which sometimes works and at others times creates a stumbling block for non-local readers. It also includes some rather direct sections on the young PAM lads as they experiment with sex, with one of the ‘lads’ actually proving to be a girl who disguises herself as a boy to be accepted.
By John Ortons UKbookpublishing.com, paperback, £7.99 Amazon
