This Lovely City

As seen:
By Louise Hare
avg rating
7 reviews
As seen on the new BBC TWO TV book club, Between the Covers
Longlisted for the HWA Debut Crown Award Indie Book of the Month for March, selected by the Booksellers Association One of OBSERVER’S 10 best debut novelists of 2020 / WOMAN & HOME Best of 2020 / EVENING STANDARD Best books of 2020 / MAIL ON SUNDAY 2020 Highlights / I Best of 2020- * * *
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The drinks are flowing.
The music is playing.
But the party can’t last.
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Reviews
This book was a brilliant read and gives a great insight into what the Windrush generation had to put up with. The storyline was really gripping . The themes are really topical and give an insight into being on the receiving end of racism must be like, quite harrowing in parts. People can be so cruel to other human beings. A must read, I’m sure you will enjoy it.
A murder mystery set in postwar Britain. It detailed some of the challenges faced by the Windrush generation. Not an easy read, I found myself putting the book down alot.
A murder mystery, a jazz musician, a romance, post-war London, a long-buried secret... What's not to love? I really enjoyed This Lovely City. It was unlike any other post WW2 book I've read in that it focusses on the Windrush generation and their struggles upon arriving in the UK. Before this book I'd only heard of "Windrush" while reading UK immigration pages, so it was fascinating to hear more about these Jamaicans who moved to the UK after WW2. It's hard to think of anything I didn't like about this book. The characters were interesting, the writing was good, the setting...
Read more...Louise Hare has created an absolute gem of a debut novel. Set in post war Britain, the story revolves around Lawrie; a Windrush immigrant and his struggles to fit in and be accepted. The plot is essentially a murder mystery but is so much more than that. Its a wonderful social commentary of post war Britain, the austerity and racism suffered by the Windrush generation and yet the portrayal of the emergence of jazz culture is uplifting .
Lawrie leaves Jamaica in 1948 and arrives in London on the Windrush, having answered Britain’s call for help. He is expecting to be welcomed with open arms and for his services to be rewarded with a good wage. The reality is somewhat different. London is still reeling from the devastation caused by the war. Rubble, rather than gold, is paving the streets and finding somewhere to live, leave alone a job, proves very difficult for somebody “coloured”. He, along with all his fellow countrymen, is treated with suspicion and subjected to outbursts of violence and prejudice. Two years on and...
Read more...A charming novel which explores the life and loves of people in the black community in London in the post-war period. Laurie Matthews is of the original Windrush generation and tries his best to get settled in his new home, though he is viewed with suspicion, more so when a tragic death occurs. This is Louise Hare's debut novel and it’s an engaging read. The title gave me the expectation that it would be more of a love letter to the city of London; as it happens, the city and its people don't come out particularly well. For the great...
Read more...Interesting, given the recent news about the Windrush immigrants. Life was tough and very few people were in favour of these people. Some never settled but others persevered and made a new life in a cold, wet country. Louise gives good insights into their situation.