Gagarin and I

From AwardAnnals

Book:	Gagarin and I
Author:	Stephen Blanchard
Honors:	1995 Whitbread-1st Novel shortlist Score: 6.45
Genres:	Fiction books
Publisher:	Vintage

It’s the middle of the 1960s, the river’s in flood and the weather’s stuck in mid-March. It’s also the era of the space race and young Leonard wants the Russians to win. Suffering from a rare and painless wasting disease, he puts his faith in Yuri Gagarin, heroic pioneer of a weight-free existence.