Back to the Beach

BACK TO THE BEACH is a nostalgic account of one boy's journey growing up gay in the 1970s. The novel's protagonist, Tim Summers, faces daily torments from school bullies while trying to find his place in the world, easier said than done when you're only ten years old. Tim's mother, Olivia, feels stifled by her environment and yearns to be recognised as an artist. Her dreams threaten to tear the family apart, but what price can you put on aspirations? Tim's father, Wayne, finds himself increasingly at odds with his family in a rapidly changing world.

This story is juxtaposed with Tim's arrival in Sydney in 1981. Now 20, he must learn to navigate the city's vibrant gay scene, as he dives headlong into everything this big, bad city has to offer. Tim believes he has escaped his past, but life is never that simple. Tim's adventures offer a compelling snapshot of Sydney's early 80s gay scene with its bars, saunas and nightclubs, before AIDS changed everything.

BACK TO THE BEACH is a prequel to Alistair Sutton's The Day Before You Came, which was #13 in The Bookshop Darlinghurst's top seller list for 2020. If you are looking for a layered, character-driven novel, Back to the Beach, with its attention to detail, quirky characters, and engaging situations, is a must read.