It’s 1950, the Blitz is over, and London is 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 Evie, 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. 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. Before long, London’s newest arrivals become the prime suspects in a tragedy which threatens to tear the city apart.
This book pleasantly surprised me, even when I requested a copy on NetGalley I was still unsure whether I would like it. I have never read anything, nor do I have much knowledge of this subject. I was aware many men came from the Caribbean to aid the reconstruction of British society in the aftermath of WWII, but I had no understanding of the circumstances they had to face upon their arrival. In fact, I found myself in slight disbelief that only 70 years ago it was seemingly justifiable to treat a person of colour in this way.
For a debut novel This Lovely City was incredibly well written. Split between two timelines, one in 1948 as the Windrush immigrants first arrive in London and then 2 years later in 1950. Lawrie was a very endearing character, he worked so hard to be a British citizen only to be vilified in return. Unfortunately, I didn’t particularly warm to any of the other characters and found Evie especially difficult to empathise with and somewhat annoying at times.
I felt there was a great deal of mystery to the story and had surmised the outcome quite early on. However, this didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the story. I would definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading more from Hare in the future.
** Thanks to HQ, via NetGalley, for this ARC **
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