The Closing March

This remarkable novel follows young Mick Cotton's progress as he strives to learn the cornet in order to take his dying grandfather's place in the colliery band which is to take part in the Closing March - the last parade of miners from the Bilston pit in Nottingham as it closes down. Mick's real passion is art: his intuitive approach is fuelled by his grandfather's dreams and memories as he struggles to come to terms with his life as it draws to a close. Mick finds himself 'living in someone else's head' and in the pictures he feels compelled to draw from the story of his grandfather's years in the mine. Markham's writing parallels Mick's art - sensitive, exploratory, arresting. She deals with abstract concepts in a concrete way, rendering them wholly accessible to young readers. This would make a superb Year 7 class reader, with many meaningful spin-offs for other subjects, too.