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My favorite book from #March #3rdbookof2021
#12Booksof2021

Honorable mentions: “The Mirror and the Light” by Hillary Mantel and “The Housekeeper and the Professor” by Yoko Ogawa

I really enjoyed this novel. Immediately I was drawn to the characters Laurie and Evie & wanted to follow their story. I had never heard of the Windrush immigrants & so that was interesting to learn about. People‘s inhumanity & nastiness to others is always hard to read. But there was so much hope here too. Really lovely people … Laurie is wonderful. A family found & made. Work. Music. Love. Wonderful friends. This was well-written. 4/5

The story of Lawrie, in theory invited by Britain from Jamaica to help rebuild after the war; in reality shunned and ignored and refused work, his love story with neighbour Evie and a murder mystery too. This started out so-so for me as I couldn‘t help but compare it to Small Island and I wasn‘t overwhelmed by the writing but I think I was being unfair; as the story unfolded the characters won me over and it turned out to be quite gripping.

And I just love these endpapers.

They seem so cheerful and put me in a good mood.

This cover showed a couple of places when it was first published and I love that cover. So I borrowed it from the library not knowing what it was about.

This book is mostly set in 1950 and has glimpses back to 1948. We follow some mento be known as the Windrush generation, this was immigrants that were invited to the UK in 1948. We follow Lawrie and his friends as they try to navigate in the UK, finding a job, a place to live and love.

😂😂😂

I would have loved to see this

This novel is set in 1950. Has anything changed since then?

#FirstLineFridays

The basement club spat Lawrie out into the dirty maze of Soho, a freezing mist settling over him like a damp jacket

@ShyBookOwl

A total of 4 for February. Tagged book was probably my favourite. Onwards to March . . .

What a great book. At its most basic a murder mystery but really a story about the Windrush generation and the difficulties they faced in post war Britain.

The basement club spat Lawrie out into the dirty maze of Soho, a freezing list settling over him like a damp jacket.

This has not been a good reading weekend. Not picked this up at all. Better late than never I suppose.

Next up . . . Well. Because look at the cover 😍

I liked this book. It's not a riveting plot but unwinds over a short period of time. At times unpleasant, due to the racism, but also positive in other aspects.
I liked the characters, the era and the relationship between the two main characters. Also the ending was not what I expected!

The premise sounds interesting, set in London and focusing on the Windrush people who moved here.

This is a great book, set after WWII in London. It see the arrival of Empire Windrush and on it Lawrie Matthews, jazz musician. He gets a job as postman and at night in bars/clubs as part of a music group. One day he is in the wrong part of town and wrong time and becomes a suspect in a crime.
It was hard reading the hatred and abuse directed to the people who answered the call to help England rebuild after the war! #greatbook

Such an interesting book to read. Telling us about the hardships and prejudices‘ that the Empire Windrush people had to overcome along with the realisation that life in London wasn‘t what they expected. A lack of housing, the lack of people either wanting to give them jobs or even willing to let them rent a room or house. Also the country was still rationing food along with the cold bleak weather.
My rating: 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

While this is a murder mystery, I felt it so much more as it deals with the reality of the horrific discrimination and abuse the ‘Windrush‘ generation deal with on a daily basis, truly shameful.

This is beautifully, movingly narrated by Theo Solomon and Karise Yansen, and with the Jazz music at the beginning of chapters, they really brought this wonderful tale to life. One that will stay with me for a long time.

#netgalley
#arc

Laurie arrives on the Windrush, having been promised a wonderful new life in London. Of course, the streets are not ‘paved with gold‘ and the newcomers are the victims of terrible racism.

Laurie falls in love with his neighbour but then makes a tragic discovery of a crime that is at the heart of the story.

The book does use the language of the time so be warned if you find this offensive.

#covercrush

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