Clair Wills, Lovers and Strangers. An Immigrant History of Post-War Britain

I bought this book because I wanted to patch the gaps in my reading about immigration, and Lovers and Strangers deals with the 1950s to the present day. Although the book is marketed as focused on the Windrush generation, it's much more complex than that, and does a very welcome job of showing how immigration … Continue reading Clair Wills, Lovers and Strangers. An Immigrant History of Post-War Britain →

David Olusoga, Black and British

This is a hefty block of a book, but with the subtitle of 'A Forgotten History', it ought to be. It was written for the 2016 TV series, which is now almost out of watching time (maybe the BBC will let it be seen again soon), and occasionally the writing does betray the cadences of … Continue reading David Olusoga, Black and British →

Now posting on Vulpes Libris: Don’t Panic, I’m Islamic

Over on Vulpes Libris I reviewed the miscellany Don't Panic, I'm Islamic, which has the ridiculously long subtitle of Words and Pictures on How to Stop Worrying and Learn to love the Alien Next Door. I think that gives you everything you need to know. I enjoyed it!

Peculiar stories: Annelies Verbeke’s Thirty Days

Thirty Days is a slice of life so compelling and warm that I stayed up far too late to finish it. And was then very miserable: oh, what an ending! Annelies Verbeke’s novel was voted the best of 2015 by thousands of its original Dutch and Flemish readers. It’s out now in a fine English … Continue reading Peculiar stories: Annelies Verbeke’s Thirty Days →