When I flipped the calendar page to February and saw London, I immediately thought of reading a Margaret Drabble novel, or something by Penelope Lively – two of my MRE authors (MustReadEverything) because I didn’t get to reading from their backlists last year.
But #HereandElsewhere started with my wanting to look for small – even incidental – ways to widen my world. To counter the inclination to withdraw, when the news seems menacing. Returning to the pages of favourite authors’ works isn’t very explore-y. So, I borrowed a couple of London city guides and I looked for the areas that were not included.
One of the neighbourhoods missing from both tour guides was Brixton. The perfect literary solution for that gap is Alex Wheatle. You’ll see in the photos that there is a whole series with colourful spines: the first is Liccle Bit. But Wheatle landed on the literary radar with Brixton Rock (1999). And I was also anxious to try Island Songs, because it reminded me so much of Andrea Levy’s fiction: like the perfect combo of Small Island and The Long Song – there’s even another Hortense!
For viewing, I got carried away, clicking through the classification headings in the library’s catalogue. I even watched a 1949 film, Passport to Pimlico (directed by Henry Cornelius), about an unexpected treasure trove discovered beneath a neighbourhood street when a crew was working to secure an unexploded bomb – but although it was set in south London, it wasn’t AS southerly as I’d been aiming for.
Stephen Frears’ My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) starring Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth, and Daniel Day Lewis, took me to Southwest London though. I was intrigued by the fact that Hanif Kureishi wrote the film and it being part of the Criterion Collection means a terrific contextual essay housed with the disc. Apparently the laundrette is at 11 Wilcox Road, SW8 off Wandsworth Road whereas Omar and his father live at 239 Queenstown Road at Ravenet Street in Battersea.
Basil Dearden’s Victim (1961), one of the Eclipse Collection in Criterion’s library, a “lost, forgotten, or overshadowed” classic. It’s about a “closeted, married barrister who bravely takes on a blackmailer targeting a group of vulnerable gay London men from various walks of life”: “one of the first films to address homophobia head-on, a cry of protest against British laws forbidding homosexuality”. This is west, not south, London (with a pub in Covent Garden and a home in Cheswick) but I was intrigued by the theme and the talk of an extended chase scene through a gritty and not-at-all-touristy part of London.
But back to reading: Alex Wheatle’s Brixton Rock is immediately engaging and is said to have been written in response to another book set in Brixton, which the author felt didn’t accurately represent the experience of living there. Brenton Brown was born of a black mother and a white father, although he’s grown up in the system and only come to understand some elements of his own life story.
Wheatle’s afterword suggests there are many other autobiographical elements to the story. It certainly feels authentic and immerses readers in quotidian detail of life in Brixton at ground level. One has the feeling of being able to track the characters’ pathways through the city (there are a lot of bus routes specifically named) and the sense of being able to recognize the locations described (the city market, for instance).
Liccle Bit focuses more on character and dialogue. Perhaps because it’s written for young adult readers too, there is an emphasis on scenic passages; entire passages are spoken word and the rhythm of the speech also contributes to the sense of the neighbourhood and community.
It’s the sort of book that leads you to intend on reading only a few more pages but the scene takes hold and you read further after all. And on that note, the rest of the series is tempting too. (I haven’t gotten to Island Songs yet and I might save it for another time as this is a short and crowded reading month.)
My desk calendar is by a Toronto artist (each month with a quotation from the work of an author associated with this city and printed on 100% recycled paper with VOC-free inks). It’s the perfect fit for my desire to widen my world, on and off the page.
What have you been reading lately that takes you “elsewhere”?
I love how popular this post is… It’s such a fun idea! I bet half the fun is choosing your reading and viewing material.
A recent book took me to Barcelona, and one I’m reading now to Indonesia.
You’re right: it adds a note of whimsy (but still with some “controls”!) into my usually quite carefully planned stacks.
Those sound like interesting and contrasting travels!
I read this a couple of weeks ago and wrote a response on my iPad which of course didn’t work. And then I didn’t get back to my laptop. Now I can’t recollect what I said. But I did enjoy this post. One English author I like who has set several novels in London is Anita Brookner. Most of her novels are very much about loneliness, but so English too I’m afraid.
Some famous films featuring London are the wartime documentaries and doco-features like Humphrey Jennings’ Fires were started.
Ah, yes, Brookner would also be a fine addition to the stack. Do you ever listen to the Backlisted podcast? They are big fans of her work, too. I’ve not read her for awhile now, but she is also one of my MustReadEverything authors, so I definitely do want to read more than the handful I’ve already enjoyed. I’ve never seen the Humphrey Jennings’ stuff but you’re right, that would be a great fit, especially with some of the Persephone books (reisssues) from those years to read alongside.
No, I don’t Buried. I rarely listen to podcasts – not because I don’t want to but time.
If you even get a chance to his Jennings’ films take it up. They are of their time, but well worth it. I saw them in the late 70s.
I’ve read a number of Drabble’s novels but they did not manage to make her my MRE author. In spite of this I found my hand automatically reaching for one of her books at a second hand bookstore so I went with it. Lively I met through one of her stories. I’ve been collecting her books with an intention to read them all one after the other. At the moment there are three: Passing On, Judgement Day and Family Album on my shelves.
How do you do your research? I am very interested in that process.. How do you choose what it is you’re going to be reading/watching?
She grows on you, I think, Drabble does. My favourites (so far) are the Thatcher Years trilogy (The Radiant Way, A Natural Curiosity, The Gates of Ivory). All of those Lively novels are on my shelves; I would happily join in, if you’re ever looking for a co-reader. Mostly, I rely on the public library system here. There are literally 100 branches in the city of Toronto and some of them have special collections for communities/neighbourhoods, so I find a book or two that appeals (often something available there that was also a personal/online recommendation at another point in time) and then search through their online catalogue by subject headings and soon there are simply too many choices, at which point it becomes almost random (whimsical) again to narrow it to a couple of selections. That’s something I find interesting too: how do you choose what’s on your TBR and TBW list?
You have encouraged me to give her another chance. I mean, to approach her without the bad feelings I had. I’ve not read that trilogy (but I’m putting it on my list), only The Seven Sisters, Jerusalem the Golden and The Waterfall.
A read-along sounds fun. We could maybe do it later this year.. 🙂 Right now I am a bit careful not to stray away from my around-the-world project and, as a background to it, when I need something cozy, I read Pym..
Wish our libraries are that well connected..
For this around-the-world thing, what I do is go to the Wikipedia page about the literature of the country I intend to read, take some notes about classics and contemporary writers, then I check Goodreads lists for titles that speak to my interests, that sound appealing, challenging.. Then begins the process of elimination – there’s always (too) many books to choose from.. The process of elimination is somewhat specific for each country.
When it comes to reading in general, besides following the traces left by the books I’ve already read, I find a lot of interesting and thrilling titles on Twitter, different literary websites and journals, blogs, Instagram, second hand bookshops…
She has written such a lot that it does make sense that one could connect to some stories more than others. From my understanding, for instance, The Waterfall is rather a departure for her stylistically (I’ve not read it yet).
For me, the danger would be in settling for too long into one single country. Instead of “just one more chapter”, it becoming a “just one more book” phenomenon. As it is, about half of my reading is of Canadian authors (most long- and short-form literary fiction) and that alone makes it hard to work in, well, the REST of the WORLD. Heheh I’m sure you face the same temptation with your project, despite your dedication to the selection process.
Completely understand the appeal of – and simultaneously the reluctance towards – co-reading. Perhaps if one of us DOES reach for a Drabble novel, the other might be in the mood – just by luck – in that moment too. It could happen. 🙂
We’re so fortunate to have this “problem”, to have the ‘net to constantly plump out our TBR lists and plans, to have the public library systems to assist in gathering various titles and authors!
Yes, I do face the same temptation.. I grew up on British literature and have been an anglophile my whole life. I’ve yet to read many writers, mostly women – Angela Carter, Elizabeth Taylor, Vita Sackville-West, Barbara Comyns, Sylvia Townsend Warner, Iris Murdoch – so it’s quite a challenge to steer away from these. Or, not exactly to steer away but to not bury myself completely in their writing.
I do want and need to read other literatures.
I am indeed very grateful to be surrounded by books and so many excellent sources of new titles and authors. Would be hard to imagine a life without them.
What a great idea! I’m glad you enjoyed Brixton Rock. I’ve read quite a few of Alex Wheatle’s books, and I think that one is still my favourite. I was on a panel with him once at a literary festival in London, and he was a really interesting guy to talk to. Brixton has changed quite a bit in recent years with gentrification—I found a lot of places closed and a lot of chains moving in when I went there recently. Anyway, a good book that took me “elsewhere” was The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna, which put me right into post-conflict Sierra Leone.
By now I have forgotten what the later months showcased, so they will be good surprises: it’s a fun activity alongside more general broadening in reading interests. When I realized how much Wheatle has written and published, I was happily surprised to see such an impressive backlist. His energy seems like it would be a great addition to any panel. I’m sorry to hear that the neighbourhood is not as dynamic as it once was; I can think of neighbourhoods in similar situations here in Toronto too. That Forna novel is really engaging, isn’t it: it reminded me a little bit of Amitav Ghosh’s Ibis trilogy, in terms of the way that you fall into all the characters’ stories, each feeling so multi-dimensional and complex and believable. I’m not sure I’ve read another novel set in Sierra Leone either.
Well I’m going to echo everyone else’s comments on here and say what a wonderful idea your calendar is. Also, that it’s so environmentally friendly 🙂 Do you use an electronic calendar at all? I don’t, and I’m incessantly teased for it. I purchase a new ‘daytimer’ each November at Chapters Indigo, typically something very girly with pastel colors and metallic details. One side of the page is the week, the other side is where my to-do list lives; very old-fashioned I know. Am I the only one?
Uh oh – organize-y talk. I feel like that could quickly spiral out of control. LOL While I do use an electronic calendar for deadlines and some family events/plans, and an electronic check-list/to-do organizer, I actually really love the Passion Planner. When it’s not in my budget, I use the blank template (included with earlier purchases) and print them out on my made-from-straw (no, really) printer paper, because I just can’t really GET my head around it all until it’s in print. But I have to imagine the girly colours and details – or draw my own. So, no, you aren’t the only one. (The Passion Planner used to be very cool, for socio-enviro stuff, but I’m not sure if their policy changed since they got super popular? It might scratch your itch as they have “editions” now and lovely covers and stickers, but you can’t shop for books at their site, unlike at Indigo.)
I love how you are organizing your reading with the help of your calendar. I have only read a book or two by both Drabble and Lively but definitely want to read more by both of them. Hope you are having fun armchair traveling!
Armchair travelling is fun: my feet never get wet and I always have a book to read!
I haven’t travelled far this week – just to Cornwall in 1909. Next month will see me stay close to home too since March is Irish reading month AND Wales reading month.
No chore for you to pack then, simply journeying from room to room.
I’m reading the Caradog Prichard novel for Wales reading: not a writer I know at all!
I think I may be drawn back to Russia or Paris soon – both places I visit regularly in my readings… ;D
If you received bonus travel miles for those destinations, you’d have maxed out your points by now!
I also want to read more Penelope Lively and Margaret Drabble, in fact I have a couple tbr. I love your focus on London reading, and the way one book or film leads you somewhere else. It’s a very immersive way of exploring a subject. Passport to Pimlico is a fun old film, years since I saw it. A few months ago I saw a stage production of My Beautiful launderette at the theatre here in Birmingham, it was very good.
I’d love to see it on stage, I bet some of the characters are funnier that way. Both the Drabble and Lively were so tempting. I was eyeing The Realms of Gold and The Waterfall (but only one of those would have fit well for the setting, it seemed). As for the Lively, I’d noticed one on the shelves of my home library branch and it looked like a good match for London but it’s not one I knew and I’ve forgotten the title. Well, now I’ll just have to go back for it. In some other month…just because!
Great way to explore a city! I can recommend a couple of other London titles, although you may have already come across Linda Grant’s A Stranger City. The other one is Rhiannon Lucy Coslett’s The Tyranny of Lost Things, an easy read which evokes the London tourists don’t see.
Thanks, Susan! I’d forgotten about that Linda Grant novel, but I remember hearing an interview with her about it, and it did sound very interesting. What a great title for the Coslett novel: it’s not currently available in our library, but I’ve added it to my list — sometimes it just takes awhile longer (as you well know!).
I worked in south London for 5.5 years! But Lambeth, so literally just over the Thames bridge and not into the areas considered ‘dodgier’. Here’s a Brixton song for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk4cRxMXq4M. I think last year’s Dylan Thomas Prize winner, In Our Mad and Furious City by Guy Gunaratne, would be a good follow-up to this project for you. I’ve not read it yet, but have meant to.
Dang, that video is not available for viewing in my country. So I guess it’s only for the true Londoners then! Hah.
The Gunaratne is available via hold in print but it looks like I could more easily get an audiobook. However, it sounds like it might be one of the sort of books that would be best enjoyed on the page? I rarely listen to audiobooks but have been watching for opportunities to increase a little. Either way, thanks for the rec!
Oh, sorry. It’s the song “Brixton Leaves” by Duke Special; maybe you can find a different video or audio clip?
I think the Gunaratne would work well on audio because of the use of the vernacular for the various POVs. But I’ve never listened to an audiobook (can’t think when they would fit into my life), so I can’t really say!
The londonfictions website looks awesome–what a great resource. Thanks.
I think Zadie Smith is equally good an essayist as she is a novelist–so intelligent and insightful. I think I may have liked her first, Changing My Mind, better but that may be because they were generally new to me; the second volume I’d read a bunch of them in magazines first. But the essays on her father in Changing My Mind were very touching.
I do like B+W movies. I have the feeling I’ve seen Passport to Pimlico, but if so, it’s been a long time. May be time to see it again.
What fun, eh?
Maybe I’ll start with that one, then, as we seem to have similar taste in her novels.
All the reasons that other people do not like watching older B&W films are actually the reasons that I do enjoy them, but only in a particular mood, that’s true.
Sounds like you discovered some good books and interesting films! Your calendar project is really going well.
Currently I am reading Drive your plow over the bones of the dead which is set in Poland along the Czech border.
Looking forward to finding out where next month takes you!
That’s one I’m looking forward to reading sometime, too. Do you know about #FitzcarraldoFortnight, on now, hosted by Karen and Lizzy in England? (That’s who published Plows in England, I believe? But they tend to come out via Coffee House over here, among other good small indie presses on this side of the pond.)
I do not know about #FitzcarraldoFornight so I looked it up. Looks like fun! I love Coffee House, they are a local publisher here in Minneapolis. I feel so lucky to have them here!
What a great way to organize reading in different parts of the world throughout the year. I understand the tension between wanting comfort and the known and wanting to experience something completely different in reading. I am trying this year more than ever to consciously pick works by authors of color. It’s energizing my reading and I’m excited about where the year will take me.
I love the way you present this in short paragraphs: it makes me want to read so many greats. I missed “My Beautiful Laudrette (but saw the movie). Did I know it was a book? I don’t think so. The latest book I’ve read set elsewhere: a science fiction novel called Ancillary Sword! )
That’s the second in Leckie’s trilogy, right? Are you heading straight into the third? I really enjoyed all of those. Haven’t yet managed to secure copies of the newer ones, but I’m looking forward to them. Her outlook on the world, as a storyteller, suits me fine.
What a fun of bunch things to put together! I hadn’t heard of Victim at all–I’ll have to check that out. (Literally.) If you haven’t read Zadie Smith’s NW, I think it’s quite possibly her best and is also set in a multi-ethnic neighborhood in London.
I’ve just finished a tour of the South Pacific myself. (Just writing that makes me wonder: should I see the movie? Rather a contrast to my reading.) I think I’ve got some Spanish things in my near future.
That’s one of my favourite Zadie Smith novels (and I found this neat site which outlines the specifics of its setting in London too). Which reminds me, I would like to get to her essays soon: have you enjoyed those too?
Hahaha. It might make a fun contrast! And, more broadly speaking, that would make a great area to “visit” on the page.
If you like wartime B&W films, Passport to Pimlico was entertaining (a bit silly) and also from TPL: not at all serious and surprisingly relevant given the current events shifting borders and alliances overseas. 🙂