This Lovely City by Louise Hare

"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."

Hardcover, 400 pages

Expected publication: March 12th 2020 by Harper Collins

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My Review

Louise Hare brings post-war London to life in this exploration of the arrival of the Windrush generation. People invited across the world to new homes who then weren't welcomed by the British people. The story follows Lawrie who has taken a chance to come to London in search of new opportunities and the people he meets along the way. His discovery sparks the tension that has been held within the community.

Equally important to the story is his girlfriend Evie, who has lived with racism all her life and a mother who has always made her feel guilty for ruining her life. As their stories converge the author explores many themes, from widespread racism, to the women whose husbands returned from the war different men and those trying to rebuild their lives without men. This story highlights a society that was starting to become more progressive but still had double-standards when it came to sex and race.

This was an interesting story that kept me guessing until the end but was a little slow at times. I would give it 3 out of 5.

The Author

Louise Hare is a London-based writer and has an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. Originally from Warrington, the capital is the inspiration for much of her work, including This Lovely City, which began life after a trip into the deep level shelter below Clapham Common.