Tag: 20BooksofSummer

#BookReview This Lovely City by Louise Hare @HarperCollinsUK

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This Lovely CityAbout the Book

London, 1950. With the war over and London still rebuilding, jazz musician Lawrie Matthews has answered England’s call for labour. Arriving from Jamaica aboard the Empire Windrush, he’s rented a tiny room in south London and fallen in love with the girl next door.

Playing in Soho’s jazz clubs by night and pacing the streets as a postman by day, Lawrie has poured his heart into his new home – and it’s alive with possibility. Until one morning, while crossing a misty common, he makes a terrible discovery.

As the local community rallies, fingers of blame point at those who were recently welcomed with open arms. And before long, London’s newest arrivals become the prime suspects in a tragedy that threatens to tear the city apart.

Immersive, poignant, and utterly compelling, Louise Hare’s debut examines the complexities of love and belonging, and teaches us that even in the face of anger and fear, there is always hope.

Format: Audiobook (10h 46m)            Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication date: 12th February 2020 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find This Lovely City on Goodreads

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My Review

I listened to the audiobook version expertly narrated by Theo Solomon and Karise Yansen, both really capturing the Jamaican patois. The book alternates between 1948 and Lawrie’s arrival in England aboard the Empire Windrush from Jamaica, and 1950 which finds him working as a postman.

It becomes clear from the sections set in 1948 that he found a very different welcome from the one he expected. He and his fellow passengers are greeted not with open arms but placed in a cramped shelter and faced with overt racism as they seek employment. Only Rose, a volunteer at the shelter, offers any sign of friendship, but she has motives of her own. Then Lawrie meets Evie and their romance soon blossoms, although as the reader learns, Evie has secrets of her own. Anxious to raise sufficient money to marry Evie, he earns extra by transporting black market goods for his landlady’s son, Daniel Ryan plus occasional gigs playing clarinet in a jazz band.

I thought Lawrie was a wonderful character. He’s sincere, polite and his tenderness towards Evie is touching. The way he is treated by the police when he comes under suspicion for involvement in a crime is shocking.

The atmosphere of post-war bomb-damaged London is brilliantly evoked. With rationing still in place think spam fritters, fish paste sandwiches or, for a treat, egg and chips in a local cafe.

Part mystery, part love story, This Lovely City demonstrates London was anything but a lovely city for many black people.  The book is a revealing insight into the stigma of illegitimacy and the prejudice faced by people of colour, in particular by the Windrush generation; sadly they have faced other injustices in recent years. The audiobook version provides a bonus final chapter that will get you tapping your feet.

In three words: Immersive, compelling, emotional

Try something similar: The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon

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Louise HareAbout the Author

Louise Hare is a London-based writer and has an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. Originally from Warrington, the capital is the inspiration for much of her work, including This Lovely City, which began life after a trip into the deep level shelter below Clapham Common. (Photo/bio credit: Goodreads author page)

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#BookReview Three Little Truths by Eithne Shorthall @CorvusBooks @ReadersFirst1

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Three Little TruthsAbout the Book

On the idyllic Pine Road, three women are looking for a fresh start…

Martha was a force of nature, but since moving to Dublin under mysterious circumstances, she can’t seem to find her footing.

Robin was the ‘it’ girl in school. Now she’s back at her parents’ with her four-year-old, vowing that her ex is out of the picture for good.

Edie has the perfect life, but she longs for a baby, the acceptance of her neighbours, and to find out why her dream husband is avoiding their dream future.

The friendships of these women will change their lives forever, revealing the secrets, rivalries and scandals that hide behind every door…

Format: Paperback (400 pages)        Publisher: Corvus Books
Publication date: 3rd October 2019 Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Find Three Little Truths on Goodreads

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My Review

I enjoyed Eithne’s previous book Grace After Henry so I’ve been looking forward to finding time to read Three Little Truths. To provide additional motivation I included it in my list for the 20 Books of Summer 2021 reading challenge hosted once again by Cathy at 746 Books.

Well, all I can say is that it’s hard work being a newcomer to Pine Road because, based on Martha’s experience, the female residents of the road will be all over you like a rash before you’ve even finished unpacking.  Or they’ll be exchanging snippets of information about you and your family in the Pine Road WhatsApp group.  As one of the characters remarks, ‘Pine Road makes the Spanish Inquisition look like an amateur operation’.

Speaking of which, the sections showing the messages exchanged between group members were a lot of fun to read with some real laugh out loud moments.  For example, when the subject matter of the “groundbreaking” newspaper column by Bernie, self-appointed matriarch of Pine Road, is revealed. Or the discussion about the precise specifications for an item to be procured for a planned street party which includes the instruction to ‘avoid gender specific shades’ of wrapping paper.  And who knew that arguments over parking could illicit comparisons with the Middle East conflict.

Before long it becomes clear that amongst the residents of Pine Road it’s not so much three little truths as a plethora of big lies, some of a more serious nature than others.

Of the three main characters, Martha’s story was the one I found most compelling and it was her I found myself rooting for as more about her family’s experiences before moving to Pine Road is revealed.  The author cleverly found a way to give the reader a direct insight into Martha’s thoughts and feelings about an event which was clearly traumatic for both her and her family, and has left her confused and uncertain about how to deal with it.

And this is where I began to have some reservations about the book. Although I enjoyed the humour, it made me slightly uneasy to be laughing at WhatsApp messages about stolen newspapers one minute and the next experiencing Martha’s obvious mental anguish or witnessing the curve balls life can throw for other residents.

Having said that, although I’d never want to live there, I did enjoy being introduced to the residents of Pine Road. ‘A curved row of twenty-one houses. Stacks of red bricks divided by iron gates. A collection of lives where the only automatic connection was a postcode. A place where families explanded, imploded and renewed. A place where people lived in company, alone and often, if they lasted long enough, both.’ 

I received an advance review copy courtesy of Atlantic Books and Readers First.

In three words: Witty, amiable, engaging

Try something similar: The Secrets of Primrose Square by Claudia Carroll

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EithneShortallAbout the Author

Eithne Shortall studied journalism at Dublin City University and has lived in London, France and America. Now based in Dublin, she is chief arts writer for the Sunday Times Ireland. Her debut novel, Love in Row 27, published in 2017, was a major Irish bestseller, and her second novel, Grace After Henry, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards and won Best Page Turner at the UK’s Big Book Awards. (Bio/photo credit: Publisher author page)

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