Life Begins at 40 by Mark Charlesworth and Chris Newton

Review by Ryan Owen Gibson

The Doctor has two hearts – called Pete and Jeff

Or Mark and Chris, it’s hard to tell really. Yet there is much more than Doctor Who at the heart of this hilarious and uplifting book.

Life Begins at 40 is the new book from Lancashire authors Mark Charlesworth and Chris Newton. It intimately follows the lives of Pete and Jeff, ‘Two thirty-something Doctor Who fanatics sharing a flat in Blackpool, out of pocket, out of luck and clinging to the hope that Life Begins at 40″. Although this book marks their literary debut, both Mark and Chris are already successful writers and musicians in their own right. Mark is a guitarist in the band Black Orchid and author of two self-published poetry collections, Sunrise and Shorelines (2008) and In Memory of Real Trees (2009), whilst Chris is a drummer in Black Orchid and also lead singer of the alternative electronic band 19ninetynine. They are both the “Earth’s Greatest Gentleman” and “fully trained wizards”.

At only 24, Mark and Chris have achieved more than most people their age. As I read the book, the picture of the authors in my head began to increasingly resemble the current Doctor himself; intelligent, articulate, completely bonkers, but mainly, old before his time (At 26, Matt Smith is the youngest actor to play the Doctor in the show’s history). Writing as two men approaching 40 isn’t easy, but neither are Pete and Jeff your average 39 year-olds. In many ways, they are the opposite of Mark and Chris, representing the youngest incarnations of the Doctor often found in his oldest forms (I’m thinking particularly of Patrick Troughton and Tom Baker). Such is the beauty of a regenerating 900 year-old Time Lord.

The battle between how old you are and how old you feel is visible throughout the book, but another central theme involves the idea that we, as humans, seek to interpret our ever-changing surroundings based on the things we know best. For Pete and Jeff, most of those things revolve around Doctor Who, but as becomes apparent, “their world view is tainted by too much cult TV, and the walls between reality and fantasy begin to blur”. The challenge for them is to cope with reality when compelled to abandon those things (Can Jeff really divest himself of his entire collection of Doctor Who toys/memorabilia?) or forced to encounter things they have little experience of. As it goes, Pete and Jeff are completely untypical of that particular strata of society (Jeff marginally less, if only for his reasonably ‘normal’ jobs), and so their experience of, for example, sex, relationships, children, and for Pete, even the world outside his front door, is presented in a manner which is ripe with satirical observation and cruel misgivings. Beneath the initial laughs, we realise that Pete is repeatedly hurt by the selfish sponge that is his ex-girlfriend Simone, and Jeff is tortured by his love for Rachel, a childhood sweetheart that appears to have long since found her Prince.

Avoiding the third person narrator in favour of the first person diary entry form was a wise move. The book began its life as a series of blog posts, however, by expanding that format into a longer book, there was a real risk that the whole thing could become monotonous and fragmented. Not so. The mixture of diary entries with letters, emails and even dream episodes (watch out for a side-splitting Quantum Leap sequence), provides a well-rounded but varied reading experience, as well as offering ample opportunities for the authors to demonstrate their unique brand of black comedy. It also helps to gradually soften the reader’s initial reaction to the range of oddball characters, and by the end, it’s almost impossible not to love Pete’s penchant for odd food and Jeff’s penchant for even odder girlfriends. More favourites are the incomprehensible Pete Harrison, the inconsolable Andy Pond and the intolerable Dom. About halfway through, it becomes apparent that Life Begins at 40 is curiously difficult to put down.

For obvious reasons, I would put Pete’s inheritance money on there being a strong influence from television shows such as Bottom, Men Behaving Badly, Peep Show and, more recently, The Big Bang Theory. However, what Life Begins at 40 manages to achieve that some of those shows doesn’t, is the knack of being both light-hearted and poignant, and surprisingly uplifting. Like all of the shows mentioned above though, it’s bloody funny. By the end, the urge for Pete and Jeff to beat their monsters is overwhelming, but it slowly appears that our unlikely heroes are not going to succeed without the help of some unlikely companions.

As one would expect, the novel lives, breathes and even oozes Doctor Who, but this should not scare off potential readers who aren’t acquainted with the so-called ‘Whoniverse’. The references to the show (and other giants of 1980s and 1990s sci-fi culture such as Star Wars and Star Trek) do not exclude the reader, but become for us, as much as for Pete and Jeff, a method of engaging with reality, a way of dealing with middle-age on their terms. As they eventually come to realise, it takes more than a TARDIS to beat turning 40. In my opinion, Life Begins at 40 achieves the perfect balance. For Doctor Who fans, the book is a bit like psychic paper; it’s just what you want to read from a book influenced by the show. For everybody else, it’s a thoroughly good read.

Based on this book alone, Mark Charlesworth and Chris Newton are surely names to watch. Their writing is sharp, witty and very very clever, but also betrays astute observations of culture, society and the human condition. The cliffhanger at the end suggests the possibility of a sequel, and if so, it will be eagerly awaited. But enough of that. Spoilers.

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Life Begins at 40 was released on 14 November 2010, published by Hirst Publishing and priced at £9.99. It can be bought directly from Hirst Publishing (www.hirstpublishing.com), or you can find it online at Amazon, Waterstones and WHSmiths.

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“Ryan Owen Gibson is a writer, editor and social media guru based in Preston. He was the inaugural Student Editor of UCLan’s first undergraduate research journal, and has written for a variety of magazines, websites and conferences.”

He can be contacted via his blog: http://www.ryanowengibson.blogspot.com and on Twitter @ryanowengibson .

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