Some books transport you to a time. Others transport you to a feeling. Trip ’89, the debut novella by Chris Foster Tolley, does both and it does so with the windows down, the music up, and a slightly questionable campervan called Ken leading the way.
The premise is deliciously simple. It’s 1989, and twenty-two-year-old Cea is stuck. Stuck in a village in the middle of nowhere, stuck in a life that feels like it’s happening to everyone else, and stuck with a heavy case of what Foster Tolley brilliantly coins “SOMO”, a Sense of Missing Out. Before FOMO was a hashtag, it was an ache. And Cea feels it in his bones.
So he does what any self-respecting twenty-something in the late eighties might do: he buys a campervan, names it Ken (after Red Ken, naturally, a political nod that sets the tone), and sets off on a picaresque odyssey through a rapidly changing Britain. What follows is part road trip, part history lesson, part love letter to the music that defined a generation.
What sets Trip ’89 apart is its refusal to view the decade through rose-tinted glasses. Yes, there’s nostalgia in spades, the festivals, the raves, the analogue thrill of a C90 cassette, but there’s also unemployment, loneliness, and the quiet desperation of young people trying to find their place in a world that didn’t offer many roadmaps. Foster Tolley balances the two with a wry, self-deprecating wit that feels less like reading a novel and more like listening to a very entertaining friend recount their wildest summer.
And what a summer it is. Cea’s journey takes him from Suffolk to the West Country, eventually landing in Sidmouth during its annual Folk Festival, a town he’d never have chosen, which is precisely why it works. There are encounters with fudge-selling eccentrics, festivalgoers, fellow travellers, and a cast of characters so richly drawn you’ll swear you’ve met them before. There’s love, mischief, and more than a few eyebrow-raising escapades.
Then there’s the music. Trip ’89 comes with its own soundtrack, a curated 89-track playlist and a 20-track mixtape that you can actually listen to on Spotify. It’s a multimedia experience that makes the story feel alive. From The Golden Palominos to Joe Smooth, the music isn’t decoration; it’s the heartbeat of the whole adventure.
Foster Tolley, the pen name of historian and educator Chris Walklett, has a sharp eye for detail and an even sharper ear for dialogue. Early readers have compared him to everyone from Jack Kerouac to Nick Hornby, but the voice is entirely his own: warm, funny, occasionally chaotic, and always authentic.
For Gen Xers, this book will feel like coming home. For everyone else, it’s a vibrant, immersive time machine, proof that the best part of a trip isn’t the destination, but the journey it takes you on.
Trip ’89 is available now in paperback and eBook. Pack your bags, turn up the music, and let Cea take you for a ride.
Where to buy:
Paperback via the author’s website https://chrisfostertolley.wordpress.com/ or eBay
eBook on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited
Also available at Waterstones
Praise for Trip ’89:
“Reminds me of Kerouac’s On the Road.” – Reader review
“Compelling and oh so visual, a cinematic feel that would translate so well to the screen.” – Reader review
“Captures a bygone era for culture and partying… very authentic and very readable.” – Dan Lissamore, author
Monica Costa founded London Mums in September 2006 after her son Diego’s birth together with a group of mothers who felt the need of meeting up regularly to share the challenges and joys of motherhood in metropolitan and multicultural London. London Mums is the FREE and independent peer support group for mums and mumpreneurs based in London https://www.londonmumsmagazine.com and you can connect on Twitter @londonmums
