BOOKS | Reviews
NON-FICTION RENI EDDO-LODGE Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race (Bloomsbury) ●●●●●
Being a person of colour in the world today is having to constantly affirm your place in society, having to defend your right to exist, to work twice as hard to prove yourself. Being a person of colour who refuses to be seen in this way is aggressive, problematic or ‘obsessed with race’. These are just some of the labels that Reni Eddo-
Lodge seeks to probe and dismantle in Why I’m
No Longer Talking to White People About Race, a seething take- down of commonly held attitudes towards race and racism in the UK and beyond. The title may be provocative but it is entirely essential, symbolising an intense frustration with the way that people of colour are continually dismissed by those that refuse to accept the reality of structural racism. Eddo-Lodge’s insightful discussions on black history from
Britain’s colonial past to the murder of Stephen Lawrence and, more recently, Brexit, reveal a deep-seated, institutional hatred of ‘the other’, which has continued to inform and affect opinions today. Her bold choice to include an interview with former BNP leader Nick Griffin underlines this, proving that such attitudes will persist as long there is a resistance to change. By exploring sources of racism, whether it be through historical
analysis or by delving deeper into white feminism or the link between race and class, Eddo-Lodge reveals why anti-racist work should be a universal objective, even if racism isn’t a universal concern. The book is ultimately a defiance against the silencing of people of colour. (Arusa Qureshi) ■ Out now.
DEBUT JESSICA THUMMEL The Cure for Lonely (Freight) ●●●●● DYSTOPIAN FICTION KENNETH STEVENS 2020 (Saraband) ●●●●●
Right from its sucker punch of an opening paragraph, Jessica Thummel’s debut novel is a captivating read. Winner of the Dundee International Book Prize in 2016, it follows Sam Gavin – a twentysomething from Nowhere, Kansas, who’s just beginning his journey into trans manhood. It’s 1989 and after a litany of tragedies, Sam’s teenage obsession Gwen comes back to town. A narcissist fleeing from her fiancee, Gwen convinces Sam to leave town; they end up in San Francisco, where Sam feels free to attempt living as a man.
Set a mere three years in the future, 2020 depicts a bleak but uncomfortably familiar Britain: a terrorist attack on a sleeper train shakes the country, support for xenophobic groups and politicians is growing, and racial tensions are becoming violent. In Stevens’ novel, there is no central
character or perspective: instead we are privy to a secret hearing, where events surrounding the terrorist attack and subsequent fallout in the community of Sudburgh are communicated by a stream of different voices who offer a multitude of perspectives and opinions.
The plot’s occasionally a little thin on Despite the many unnamed
the ground, but that’s easy to skip over: what makes The Cure for Lonely so engrossing is Sam’s voice. He’s like an unholy blend of Holden Caulfield and Scout Finch if they lived through the 1980s AIDS crisis. The book’s suffused with literary references too (Sam’s grouchy neighbour Bill turns out to be the Bill that wrote Naked Lunch) and it’s a real pleasure to read. Thummel has great skill with characterisation: here’s hoping we hear more from her soon. (Yasmin Sulaiman) ■ Out Thu 27 Jul. 68 THE LIST 1 Jun–31 Aug 2017
characters, people are distinct, with brief first-person accounts artfully constructed to create fully formed characters, despite the fact that only a handful feature more than once. The tension is perfectly pitched, building from assaults glimpsed at night to high profile kidnappings. Surprisingly 2020 isn’t a response to Brexit or Trump – most of it was written in 2015 – but it hammers home how easily a divided country can reach crisis point. (Rowena McIntosh) ■ Out now.
POETRY RACHEL MCCRUM The First Blast to Awaken Women Degenerate (Freight) ●●●●●
Rachel McCrum’s debut poetry collection is bold yet sensitive, effervescent yet sincere, placing emphasis on the voices of women and their strength, rage and vulnerabilities. There’s a sense of tenderness and
melodic richness in McCrum’s language but the lyrical movement of the words and their unpredictable structure encourages a performative quality which works to underline the range of narratives on show. From the displaced in ‘Who wants a home?’ to the fierce in ‘I am Gigi Hadid’s left elbow’, each piece is an insight into histories, memories and identities. The ‘Problems to Sharpen the Youth’ poems are particularly affecting in their discussions of crossing water and the analogies that can be made between modern-day forced movement and migration. Though she now calls Montreal home,
McCrum's contributions to the poetry and spoken word scene in Scotland – both as an individual and as half of Rally & Broad – have been indispensable. The First Blast is another impassioned addition to her repertoire (Arusa Qureshi) ■ Out Mon 17 Jul.
NON-FICTION JOHN GRINDROD The Outskirts (Sceptre) ●●●●●
‘I grew up on the last road in London,’ begins John Grindrod’s Outskirts, a satisfying ramble through the Green Belt of past and future with a backpack full of research. To him it’s both the wilderness which lay at the edge of the council estate he grew up on and a town planning hot topic. Although a sort-of-joke, the line imparts the sense of not quite belonging to either rural or urban space which permeates the rest of the book. As a memoir-slash-social history of post-war Britain and its varying attitudes to progress, Grindrod’s own family becomes a case study by which he examines housing, class, health, the environment and more besides through a particular, personal lens. Although autobiographical detail could be pared back slightly, on the whole the personalisation of plotted land facing competing political and conservational pressures makes for both a thought-provoking read and a compelling argument for quality of life remaining central to balancing the UK’s developed land and open spaces. (Laura Waddell) ■ Out now.