The Lonely Londoners
Ratings9
Average rating3.5
Both devastating and funny, The Lonely Londoners is an unforgettable account of immigrant experience - and one of the great twentieth-century London novels At Waterloo Station, hopeful new arrivals from the West Indies step off the boat train, ready to start afresh in 1950s London. There, homesick Moses Aloetta, who has already lived in the city for years, meets Henry 'Sir Galahad' Oliver and shows him the ropes. In this strange, cold and foggy city where the natives can be less than friendly at the sight of a black face, has Galahad met his Waterloo? But the irrepressible newcomer cannot be cast down. He and all the other lonely new Londoners - from shiftless Cap to Tolroy, whose family has descended on him from Jamaica - must try to create a new life for themselves. As pessimistic 'old veteran' Moses watches their attempts, they gradually learn to survive and come to love the heady excitements of London. This Penguin Modern Classics edition includes an introduction by Susheila Nasta. 'His Lonely Londoners has acquired a classics status since it appeared in 1956 as the definitive novel about London's West Indians' Financial Times 'The unforgettable picaresque ... a vernacular comedy of pathos' Guardian
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3 primary booksLondon Trilogy
London Trilogy is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 1956 with contributions by Sam Selvon and Juno Dawson.
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I rate this book a 2.5.
Why did I pick it up?
I picked up this book due to recommendation from a podcast that I follow. I went into this book blindly. Yet, I am still disappointed. Its hard to put into words but I felt unfulfilled. However, the patois in the book created a sort of nostalgia for me.
Describe the book in 5 words
Nostalgic, Funny, Honest, and I am short two words. No judgments
Who would LOVE The Lonely Londoners
Anyone who wants to get a glimpse of Caribbean immigrants in foreign (little patois there). Seriously, the theme of this book gives a glimpse of the universal experience of the Caribbean immigrant. It doesn't matter the destination of said immigrant, the experience is very similar.
Are there illustrations?
None.
Overall thoughts
Overall, I enjoyed this book. There is one huge caveat. There is only ten periods over the course of 160 something pages. I am exaggerating, but seriously I read ten pages and only saw two periods. This could be a literary device, I don't know.
What I enjoyed about this book is being able to relate to the characters and their experiences. When you go foreign, your family in your home country tends to think that you hit it big. Its always, send me money or send for me to come to the new country. This book was set in London, but you could easily interchange any country and I feel like the experience would be the same. My family immigrated to US from Trinidad and the experience is the same.
I would recommend this book. However, the patois may be a challenge for some.
