UPSTREAM

About the Book

UPSTREAM is a powerful portrait of life in Britain and Ireland during the last quarter of the 20th century, acutely observed by aspiring author Jim Mitchell as he and wife Bridget settle into a new life in the West Country.

The story centres on the married life of Jim and Bridget, the births of their children and the flow of people and events around them as they make the spiritual journey "upstream" to the source of life and meaning, against an increasingly unfeeling, commercialised world where the individual has come to count less and less.

About the Author

John Kerr McMillan was born in Armagh in 1948 and grew up mainly in Belfast. He has been resident in England since 1970 and has worked as a library assistant and English teacher. John’s novels have received high praise from a range of distinguished writers and critics. Philip Callow admired the “lovely lyricism and good writing which seems to come at you straight from the heart”. Edward Upward praised the “many marvellous episodes and descriptions by a born writer” and Belfast’s Danny Morrison recommended the “fine, lyrical, powerful and detailed observation of mores, language, fashion and music by a good and serious writer”.