Final Approach

Name: Final Approach
Author: https://www.simonandschuster.biz/authors/Mark-Blackburn/270336843
ISBN: 9781910461747

My Father and Other Turbulence

By Mark Blackburn

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Rave and Reviews

About The Book

A stunning debut which charts the turbulent flightpath between a planespotting son and a jetsetting father. In Final Approach: My Father and Other Turbulence, Mark Blackburn takes the reader along his lifelong struggle to find a place for himself outside the shadow of his womanising, bullying multimillionaire father. Amidst vindictive teachers and adolescent travails, power plays and a crumbling family fortune, Mark’s infectious love for all things aviation shines through. Beginning at Heathrow, while waiting to board a flight to Cork where the ailing family estate awaits him, Mark takes a look back at a life defined by airports. From a schoolboy bullied for his love of planes to the childhood bliss of a holiday spent cataloguing jets with his brother, the presence of the estranged father is never too far away. It’s at Heathrow again where an adolescent Mark is summoned to meet his father’s foreign mistress, and Deauville airport where, in middle-age, he alights to negotiate a sale on behalf of his increasingly paranoid father, who is determined to spend away his riches ‘til death. Every chapter has a new airport, and each ones brings Mark and the reader closer to the book’s final approach. Dryly witty to the end, Final Approach offers a poignant insight into a man’s struggle for self-determination. It's the trip of a lifetime. Take your seat and buckle up for take-off.

About The Author

Mark Blackburn

Mark Blackburn grew up at the rural end of Berkshire the oldest of four children, but arriving in London during the heyday of punk to study at the LSE, he felt that was where he belonged. Sundry abortive attempts at stardom followed, as a stand-up comedian, actor and musician. A successful career there as a shoe-seller followed, but Mark now lives in Somerset, England, doing what he loves best - writing. Extracts of his upcoming book Final Approach: My Father and Other Turbulence, part-memoir, part-travelogue have already won him a trip to Sydney and appeared in Moxy literary magazine and elsewhere. He has written a number of short stories, poems and other pieces of creative non-fiction which have been published online and in print. Dame Margaret Drabble selected Mark as Runner-Up in the Interact Ruth Rendell Short Story Prize, saying how much she loved and related to his story, The Wall. He was also shortlisted for the 2022 TLC Pen Factor Pitch Prize. He regularly reads and performs his work at events and literary festivals in the South-West, and has appeared in the media talking about his writing and the writing process. When he isn’t writing, he may well be found under the bonnet of an old car trying to coax it back to life on a classic car rally.

Product Details

Publisher: Claret Press (November 2, 2023)
Length: 198 pages
ISBN13: 9781910461747

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Raves and Reviews

A wholly original memoir: Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died meets Francis Bourgeois’ The Trainspotter’s Notebook with an aviation twist. Subtle, wry and moving, this is an exploration of the complicated relationship between a son and his abusive multimillionaire father, shot through a prism of planes and airports. As a real-life account of the super rich, Final Approach commands a universal appeal.‘A wonderful book that constantly surprises and delights.’ Alan McCormick, Best British Short Stories. An exploration of a father/son relationship, offering insight into the jagged process of growth and self-determination. ‘Excellent – moving and engaging and really original – there is nothing like this.’ Lara Feigel, writer, reviewer and professor at Kings College London

– Amazon reviewer

‘Final Approach is a beautiful and tender work.’

– Shaun Levin, A3 Press.