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ClareR (5721 KP) rated This Lovely City in Books
May 1, 2020
The beginnings of the Windrush generation.
The only thing I didn’t like about This Lovely City by Louise Hare, were the attitudes of a lot of the (predominantly) white, male Londoners. And there’s not a thing that the author could do about that.
In 1948 answering a call from the Homeland, Lawrie and hundreds of mainly young men like him, arrived in London, fresh off the Empire Windrush from Jamaica. They were there to help rebuild England after the Blitz and the end of the Second World War. We see this story mainly from Lawrie’s point of view, so we see the racism, the way he was turned away from jobs because the other men wouldn’t want to work with ‘his type’. It was a shock to see the use of the ‘n’ word so often, and the blatant hostility towards Lawrie and his friends.
This story isn’t just about that though. There’s a bit of a love story and a mystery to solve as well. Lawrie makes an upsetting discovery, and rather than being thanked for it, he is immediately under suspicion. Again, solely down to the colour of his skin.
I loved this book. It gave me an insight into the lives of the Windrush generation as they began their lives here. Lawrie and his girlfriend Evie were great characters to read about - I WANTED all to be well for them, as I did for the other Jamaican characters, if I’m honest.
If this is Louise Hare’s first book, I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us next.
Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for my copy of this wonderful book.
In 1948 answering a call from the Homeland, Lawrie and hundreds of mainly young men like him, arrived in London, fresh off the Empire Windrush from Jamaica. They were there to help rebuild England after the Blitz and the end of the Second World War. We see this story mainly from Lawrie’s point of view, so we see the racism, the way he was turned away from jobs because the other men wouldn’t want to work with ‘his type’. It was a shock to see the use of the ‘n’ word so often, and the blatant hostility towards Lawrie and his friends.
This story isn’t just about that though. There’s a bit of a love story and a mystery to solve as well. Lawrie makes an upsetting discovery, and rather than being thanked for it, he is immediately under suspicion. Again, solely down to the colour of his skin.
I loved this book. It gave me an insight into the lives of the Windrush generation as they began their lives here. Lawrie and his girlfriend Evie were great characters to read about - I WANTED all to be well for them, as I did for the other Jamaican characters, if I’m honest.
If this is Louise Hare’s first book, I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us next.
Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for my copy of this wonderful book.
This Lovely City
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An atmospheric and utterly compelling debut novel about a Jamaican immigrant living in postwar...
Historical Fiction Post WW2 London Windrush Generation