Ross Fitzgerald and Ian McFadyen’s powerful new novel, Chalk and Cheese: A Fabrication, features two octogenarian former rival radio stars, Bill and Ben, who detest each other – until they find themselves in the same nursing home.
The plot centres around these two men in the twilight of their lives who refuse, as Dylan Thomas wrote, to “go gentle into that good night”.
The novel sets the scene for the flood of baby boomers who will boost nursing home occupancy, followed by a golden era eagerly anticipated by funeral directors.