Reading Fitzroy...

In life you meet people

Some of them you get to know well

On the first meeting you may find out where they live, their work

What music they like, if they follow sport

As you get to know them better you might find out about their family, their childhood

Attitude to religion, politics, etc

Now, there is probably no rhyme or reason to this, it is just where the conversation leads

You don’t start off with finding out what they were like as an infant, and then tracing their life to the present day

Instead, rather like a jigsaw puzzle, you use the parts that fit

Unlike a jigsaw puzzle, you never get the whole picture

The puzzle will always be on the kitchen table, waiting to be finished

So, why am I writing about this

Well, because this is how I see the Fitzroy series

The reader gradually puts together a picture of the Mews, the playroom, the kitchen, the garden

In some ways they can start anywhere

Of course, like meeting a person, you must be interested in them

There must be some chemistry

So, I’m suggesting the books don’t have to be read like a linear narrative

There are different ways of reading

Now, people read things how they wish

This was made very clear to me by my collaborator

It is not up to me, as the author, to say it should be read this way or that

It is not like a garden power tool that comes with instructions for use

Having said that

I like the idea of a volume or two lying around a Fitzroy fans’ living area

They just pick it up, flick through the pages and read a story or read a few of the sayings

A few more pieces of the puzzle fit in

The reader a little nearer to understanding and appreciating life at the Mews…