Genres: Plays, Classics
Themes: Family, Loss, Society
Rating: 4 stars
I don’t have much experience of reading plays but I was really glad that this book had been gifted to me by my friends (shout out to the Placements Squad!) as it turned out to be a book I really enjoyed.
Blood Brothers follows the story of twin brothers Mickey and Edward who were separated at birth. Around a decade later, fate ensured that these two boy’s paths crossed- but with a twist of course. Both are unaware that they are brothers and ironically, they become best friends. As the book progresses, readers see how their relationship evolves over the years…
I loved the way that Mickey and Edward’s friendship had blossomed in this play; two young boys who so simply and so innocently declared their loyalty to one another when they met on the street. As they grew up, they became closer and shared many great memories with one another but sadly, once they turned 18, their sweet relationship began to sour. It was time for them to go their separate ways and their carefree childhoods no longer protected them from the harsh reality of just how different their worlds were.
Being set in Liverpool during the 1970s, it’s not hard to see how social class had a real impact on what the futures of the two boys would hold. As one succeeded thanks to the opportunities, wealth and privilege he had before him, the other struggled to make something of himself, and spiralled into a mentality that would not only harm himself but those he cared about the most.
The way Mickey and Edward’s lives turned out really got me thinking about whether our lives were predetermined from the moment we were born. Because of factors like social class (as demonstrated in this book) or maybe race, gender… how much do factors like these affect the opportunities available to us in life, or the choices we decide to make? From reading Blood Brothers, I think it’s clear that they can impact our lives significantly, which can be a demoralising realisation. How ironic then, that both Mickey and Edward had the exact unfortunate fate. As the human race, we are all the same and so to let our systems dictate how far someone will go based on a few factors just doesn’t make sense. So this was just one of the interesting discussions that this book had generated for me.
Overall, Blood Brothers was a thought provoking read. It was also quite refreshing; being a musical this script is dramatic, lyrical and gripping. I would actually love to see the script come to life and perhaps one day see this in theatre. So this book is something that I would recommend if you’d like to try something new, especially as it’s a quick read.
Advertisements Share this:
