Thank you HQ for this book in exchange of an honest review
Synopsis:
The drinks are flowing. The music’s playing. But the party can’t last.
London, 1950. With the Blitz over and London still rebuilding after the war, jazz musician Lawrie Matthews has answered England’s call for help. Arriving from Jamaica aboard the Empire Windrush, he’s taken a tiny room in south London lodgings, and has fallen in love with the girl next door.
Touring Soho’s music halls by night, 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 are pointed at those who had recently been welcomed with open arms. And before long, London’s newest arrivals become the prime suspects in a tragedy which 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
Review:
This was a bit of a slow read and took a while to get to wear it needed to go. Lawrie moved to England from Jamaica in hopes of living a better life after the war and you follow Lawrie and his friends struggling to find a place in a society that doesn’t believe they belong.
As heart breaking as the story was, I found it to be predictable? Might just be because I know how horrid humans can be but regardless I found myself predicting the whole plot. While I loved the determination that the characters faced and how they weren’t willing to give up easily and the world building seemed accurate for a historical fiction, I just like the predictability of it?
If you can get passed the plot, the writing is beautiful and contributed to the 1950 vibe that the book and the characters are interesting and the book shows the cruel nature of the human race.
Rating: 3.5/5
Publisher: HQ
ISBN: 9780008332570