Although the publisher has touted this first novel as being in competition with Tony Parsons and Nick Hornby, perhaps a more accurate (but less marketing-friendly) comparison would be a 'Noughties' take on Alan Sillitoe. TMFTB focuses on two childhood friends growing up on Lancashire council estates: Kevin, the teenage rebel whose football career is cut short after a drunken brawl, and Adam, the more timid and conscientious of the pair, who wins a place at Cambridge. The strength of their friendship is put to the test, sometimes violently, as both struggle with their new situations. It could be a recipe for clumsy political point scoring set to the form of a novel and, while class differences are a hardy perennial of many British writers, Collins handles the subject deftly and with originality.

Philip Collins, now director of the Social Market Foundation, was Head of UK Strategy for an international bank, tutor at Cambridge, and producer at the BBC. He writes for numerous newspapers and magazines and is a frequent contributor to Newsnight and the BBC World Service. He lives in London and is currently writing his second novel for HarperCollins.