Adam examines his meagre existence and in a moment of bereft loneliness, and does what we all question we would do he swallows the pill. After Adam has fallen victim to unyielding love, endures a family bereavement and his future is pulled out from underneath him, Death seems like an appealing option. The pains of teenage existence are portrayed exactly in the novel, something which Burgess has down to a fine art.

The threat, allure and temptation of this pill come to encompass the plot, and haunt the characters through the novel. Adam and Lizzie witness the death of Jimmy on stage which sparks a cataclysmic revolution.

Riots begin to break out at a Jimmy Earle concert, a cultural icon in the novel, and through these riots there is a call for change. The Hit manifests these deep social and individual preoccupations in many scenes, including the opening chapter. These Marxist ideas are made all the problematic, as his adolescent state is already a time of flux, a time which denies a secure sense of self. Within this restrictive and failing social structure, Adam, the protagonist, struggles to create a sense of identity. The rich live decadently, and the poor feel the pinch more than ever. This is the premise of The Hit, which promises to be as hard hitting and controversial as Burgess’s previous novels, including the notorious Junk (1996) and Doing It (2003).īurgess depicts a restless society that is unhappy with the failing structures that the government enforce. The only catch? You die after the best week of your life. Surrounded by a society that is crumbling, this pill will make you high on life. Imagine popping a pill which propels you into a life of pure ecstasy, energy and optimism. We have well and truly landed in the recent Melvin Burgess novel, The Hit (2013). The aim of this series is to reflect the diverse research areas of NCRCL’s students and open a dialogue about particular texts, themes, and traditions. The NCRCL Book Review Series is a monthly series written by a NCRCL student published on the first Wednesday of every month.

Doing It by Melvin Burgess