Described by Sting as ‘provocative but also fair’, Jajosa Books is delighted to announce the release of Akenside Syndrome: Scratching the Surface of Geordie Identity on Kindle.
There have been feature articles on Akenside Syndrome in The Journal, The Northern Echo and Living North, and reviewing the book for NARC. magazine, Eugenie Johnson said it ‘is truly fascinating. An intelligent examination of what forms Geordie identity and why feelings of ambivalence and resentment occur… Instead of sounding like an aloof outsider, Sharkey is clearly dedicated to his work and is emotionally invested in it.’
Meanwhile, in the March edition of The Crack, Ettrick Scott praised ‘Sharkey’s witty way with a bracketed aside’ and declared: ‘It’s refreshing to read a book about Geordie culture that seeks to get beneath the tired stereotypes, and doesn’t just bang on about how we’re all ‘dead canny’’.
Featuring extracts from exclusive interviews with the likes of Sir John Hall, Tim Healy of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, former world champion boxer Glenn McCrory, Sharon Hodgson MP, former Big Brother star Narinder Kaur, playwright Michael Chaplin, entertainer Brendan Healy and Chris and Simon Donald of Viz,
Akenside Syndrome critiques Geordie identity in an uncompromising but empathetic way.
With chapters on staples of Geordie culture such as class, accent, drink and football, it seeks to free the word ‘Geordie’ from restrictive stereotypes, with one independent Amazon reviewer describing it as: ‘A very well-researched and readable book which I can wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who has either been brought up in or around Tyneside, or has an interest in the area.
Unlike most books on the subject of Geordie identity it avoids the usual lazy stereotypes…’
Think you know what being a Geordie is all about? Think again!
Buy it NOW on Kindle or hardback!
