The Bricks That Built the Houses

by Kae Tempest

It gets into your bones. You don't even realise it, until you're driving through it, watching all the things you've always known and leaving them behind. Young Londoners Becky, Harry and Leon are escaping the city in a fourth-hand Ford Cortina with a suitcase full of stolen money. Taking us back in time - and into the heart of London - The Bricks that Built the Houses explores a cross-section of contemporary urban life with a powerful moral microscope, giving us intimate stories of hidden lives, and showing us that good intentions don't always lead to the right decisions. Leading us into the homes and hearts of ordinary people, their families and their communities, Kate Tempest exposes moments of beauty, disappointment, ambition and failure. Wise but never cynical, driven by empathy and ethics, The Bricks the Built the Houses questions how we live with and love one another.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Poetry, Book Club, Queer, Novels, Literary Fiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2016

Reviews

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so very excited to begin this, adoring Tempest's poetry as I do. I was expecting the language to be sweepingly gorgeous, and to evoke an awful lot of vivid pictures as the novel progressed. There were sections where the vocabulary startled or awed me, certainly, but others seemed so run-of-the-mill that there was an odd, almost jarring effect given to the whole.

The family dynamics presented here, and the way in which different lives overlap and intersect, are Tempest's strength; she understands humans, and all of their many complexities. The plot is rather thin on the ground, though; we learn about the pasts of each character, but it is simply not compelling enough to carry the whole. Had the writing been better, I probably would have awarded this four stars.

[Evann · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's obvious the author is a poet/rapper, in the best way. It feels young and honest. The story follows two women, Becky and Harry, and all the people that make up their lives. They are both struggling to achieve their dreams, at that weird age when it seems that everyone around them is already living their perfect life. I wasn't sure where the story was going for the longest time but at one point a romance tied it all together. Then it unraveled and tied elsewhere. Part young, risky and gritty, part typical family drama. The mix of it all made for a good read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for a chance to read and review an e-copy of this book.

[julieta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy entretenido! Es como una comedia, medio romántica, a momentos demasiado exagerada, pero me encantó leer este libro. Tenía rato queriendo leer algo de Kate Tempest, a quien no he escuchado suficiente, pero como personaje, rapera, londinense, me parece tan genial como ha sido leer su novela. Y como posdata, me deja pensando en lo que debe ser hacer una traducción de una novela así, con un lenguaje callejero, el que hayan elegido traducirla a mexicano callejero me llegó particularmente. A veces me gusta más que digan cruda a resaca, debe ser mi nacionalidad.

[Ellie Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75 The writing in this was my favourite part, so lyrical and different, definitely keen on future novels by this author xx however the last 100 pages were weaker in my opinion

[Nanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4 stars

I went into this book blind & while I had no expectations this novel really got me.

It makes you think about life and what the purpose of it is. It's very touching and honest. There's a rawness to it that had me captivated and I couldn't put it down.

It surrounds the lives of Harry & Becky, Leon is mentioned in the summary but he's not a major part of the novel. The novel focus more on Becky & her life, and Harry, Harriet, and her life. As new characters are introduced we learn their history and how they came to be the way they are& how they connect with our MC-hence the bricks that BUILT the houses (While I enjoyed this, some weren't as interesting as others.) but it does show that we are all made up of strings and events that happened before our time but form us into the human we are.

This book reminded me A LOT of "The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender" but without the magical realism, and of "Fans of The Impossible Life"—both are YA so I would consider The Bricks That Built The Houses as a novel for older audiences.

[Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kate Tempest has a lot of potential as a writer. Her music is great, her poetry's even better, but this, her first attempt at the novel, just felt too predictable, too uneven, and large chunks of it were plainly, and therefore poorly, written. A lot of it read more like that of a first draft than a finalised, polished body of work. Whoever her editor was, they really let her down, as a lot of what was wrong here could have been fixed. Her writing is great in parts, exuberant and sharply real, showing a lot of potential, but falls flat in others. I'm sure her next novel will be a lot better and have more potency.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book centres on three mid-20 characters in 21st century South London: Harry – a lesbian who acts as a high end drug dealer, typically selling to businessmen in their offices, or showbiz types, behind the front of being a recruitment agent; Becky a bi-sexual dancer, working as a waitress in her Uncle’s business (her own father she finds being a famous but now imprisoned political activist) and funding her dancing by working as a masseuse; her unlikely boyfriend Pete – a hopeless drug-addled layabout, who has largely given up on modern society due to lack of opportunities (it is unclear if Tempest expects us to have any sympathy for this character). There is also Harry’s sidekick/enforcer/protector Leon – although we get little colour on him. The book opens with Harry, Becky and Leon fleeing after some form of heist and then unravels the back story leading to it - Harry and Becky meet at a party early on and are immediately attracted, meeting again at a lunch when Pete and Harry visit their mother and her new boyfriend (a timid optician Graham); after her usual drug supplier is temporarily imprisoned, Harry is then attacked by a stand in and ends up with Leon beating him and them robbing him – it then turning out that Becky’s Uncles were the ones that lost the money; Becky dumps Pete when she finds he has got Graham’s son to pose as a client to see if she sleeps with her clients.

Vibrant but patchy debut novel from an urban poet, whose first rap album (“Everybody Down”) is effectively a rap version of the book – with each song corresponding to a chapter.

The book has something of a Zadie Smith/Tarantino/Trainspotting cross about it. The title presumably refers to the back stories we get on many of not just the main characters but often their forbears. The weakest part of the book is the description of emotions – the characters (perhaps due to drugs but this is not acknowledged) seem to be experience radical and violent emotions at almost any event.

Nevertheless an interesting and provocative debut.

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. It's a book about gentrification, yearning for more, urban life, loneliness and connection but it never overstates and is subtle in tone. I loved how it gives the backstory of each new character before returning to the narrative. A perfect contemporary London novel. The writing is lovely.

[Ben Gould · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a novel, TBTBTH very much reads like a work that originated in a different artform by someone who - however accomplished she may be in other fields - is demonstrably in need of far harsher editing than perhaps her reputation allows.

The opening chapter is practically a piece of performance poetry, barrelling along at a furious, rhythmic pace. This is somewhat justified as it's describing three major characters' adreneline-fuelled escape from London and some apparently very dodgy people for reasons which eventually become clear, albeit not for a long time.

But this heightened, hyperbolic style continues for another couple of chapters which are theoretically establishing said characters. Ok, we're witnessing a lightning-bolt, love at first sight moment between two strangers in a club, but one or both girls are endlessly melting, exploding, bursting into flames or squeezing their bones out of their skin every other paragraph. These overwrought similes and metaphors don't feel remotely earned and are, frankly, more than a little cringey.

Then, when Tempest does change pace and focuses on the backstories of minor characters such as Becky and Harry's parents, it feels like we're in a different book entirely - the prose in these sections is functional at best, dreary and uninspiring at worst. I never felt like Tempest had a good handle on these older, peripheral characters, indeed she's arguably trying too hard to create a wider tapestry of London across the generations instead of staying focused on the younger people with whom she clearly feels a greater affinity.

When the pen-pictures eventually stop, the plot kicks in but by this point I wouldn't have been particularly excited by it even if it had been clever or intriguing, and it fails to be either - merely a generic heist-gone-wrong caper with cartoonish villains thrown in for good measure.

I'm not overly familiar with Tempest's earlier work but I did listen to her album Everybody Down, which sounded like a worthy successor to The Streets' appealingly ramshackle early-millennial hip-hop. If TBTBTH proves anything, though, it's that poetry, lyrics and prose are very different beasts, and it's inadvisable for one person to attempt to tame them all.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07byv7l

Description: Award-winning poet and rapper Kate Tempest reads her debut novel, a tale of desire, ambition and untamed hedonism in London's beating heart.

Written and read by Kate Tempest. Tempest is a poet, rapper, playright and novelist. She was awarded the Ted Hughes Prize for poetry in 2013 for her epic narrative poem, Brand New Ancients. The following year, her narrative-led hip hop album, Everybody Down, was nominated for the Mercury Prize.

Monsters and Slimeballs and Showgirls: In today's episode, Harry, Becky and Leon are fleeing London with a suitcase full of cash, leaving behind jealous boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and irate drug dealers. They're leaving because of what happened a year ago, when Becky's and Harry's worlds first collided together...

A World-Shrinking Gut-Smashing Kiss: Today, we meet Pete, one of London's over-qualified twenty-somethings living on dead-end jobs, but wanting more. And then there's Becky, still dreaming of dancing but whose reality is waitressing by day and giving massages in hotels by night. And Harry's still getting by nicely by dealing drugs to the elite of the city, but she can't forget the girl she opened up to in the club to the other night. Soon all three of their worlds will collide together.

None of It's Real: Harry and Leon are feeling edgy about a big drug deal as their usual contact is in jail. Meanwhile, Becky's still trying to make it as a dancer, but knows that Pete won't be happy about how she'll have to fund it.

The Heist: Harry and Leon are on their way to a big drug deal, hoping it'll be one of their last. But their usual contact is in jail, and things don't feel quite right.

Everybody down: threats and revelations at Pete's surprise party as Harry, Pete and Becky, not to mention her uncles Ron and Rags, are turn up to celebrate.

This was my first rap-based novel - it was, erm, novel, and I liked it far more than expected.

[Jane Branson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given the chance, I will rave unequivocally about everything Kate Tempest does. She is a stunning stage presence and a poet of power, hypnotic, searing and passionate. But, this book is not perfect. The Guardian reviewer described it as "uneven and under-edited" and I think that's right; the sharper end of the editor's tongue seems to have been blunted - by Tempest's previous successes or perhaps by the pound-signs which must flicker when someone who is already famous writes a novel this good.

I loved a lot of it. The language often quivers and plucks at you. Some pages are like poetry - like Tempest's poetry, with a drive and a rhythm that seems to lift it off the page. The cast of characters - many already familiar from Tempest's other work - is vividly drawn. The plot starts at the end, winds back a year and then loops forward in narrative circles, spiralling around to tell the back-stories of their parents and grandparents. This creates a rich and mesmerising world - the reader is drawn in, the tension rises and the climactic scene in The Hanging Basket is mouth-in-the-heart stuff. London is also a chief character - Tempest loves the city and it is evoked in all its urban skankiness as a thing of beauty.

However, the coke-snorting is a bit tedious at times. The telling of past histories can be rather flat. Some of the language fails to hit its mark. So, overall, 4 stars for the first novel from the usually faultless Tempest. But I can't wait for whatever she does next.

[Melanie Fritz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically an adaptation of Kate Tempest's previous work, the rap album "Everybody down". The concept of taking the characters and stories from this narrative music album and expanding them for a novel is fascinating to me. It has a strong opening: Becky, an aspiring dancer who is enduring a PR party, meets down-to-earth drug dealer Harry - a spark is lit. We are introduced to Harry's partner in crime Leon, Becky's boyfriend Pete and their families, complete with fraught relationships that come to the forefront at awkward dinners. Tempest's talents are displayed most brilliantly in her character descriptions: she introduces the reader to an array of people trying to make a living in London - they seem very closely observed and their vivid descriptions match their equally well-written dialogues.

Here is Becky, when we first meet her: Questioning postures and empathic responses. The air is heavy with cocaine sweat, hidden fragility and the prospect of good PR. Becky is twenty-six years old but feels like she's one her last legs. She's leaning against the bar; all around her are monsters and slimeballs and showgirls, shouting and screaming to prove they exist. Her shoulders are squared, pulled backwards. She looks confrontational, but doesn't mean to. This is just how she stands. She is gifted with the kind of upright posture and ease in her own limbs that results in a love of movement, a fluidity of physicality that makes dancing her most primal joy .
Harry, on the other hand, moves in confident strides. Feet fast, she takes long steps. She is all London: cocksure, alert to danger, charming, and it flows through her.

The structure of the novel, however, didn't quite work for me. In the middle of the book, the plot stops dead in its tracks in order to present character profiles. While these lives are imagined and executed well, I became very impatient, suspecting rightly, that many of the introduced characters (the parents for instance) would not play a further part in the story. One might argue that they help to establish the main characters' pasts, but to me they read like a writing exercise, rather than a stilistic device. And while her language is a refreshing mixture of urban speech, startling, staccato syntax mixed with very interesting metaphors, there is a tendency to use personifications that seemed very forced at times. For example, for every interesting image Tempest creates, like He drools a little baggy grin like dirty underwear left on the floor of his face , there are clumsy expressions like Harry's heart stabs itself in the stomach with a blunt sword or her pulse picks up its feet and starts to run .

Overall, an interesting work and an ambitious first novel with some structural problems. Looking forward to her future pursuits, whether they are in music, poetry or prose literature.

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book of the year so far! Harry, Becky, Pete and Leon. Their families, their lives and their world has been so good to be immersed in. I've read it slowly but in big chunks. It is a hard book to write about. There are drugs, lots of drugs and the stories of the people involved in that world. This book is really harsh but is also very hopeful, as I was reading it I kept thinking of all the people I wanted to read it so that I could talk about it with them. I felt that these characters had become dear to me and I wanted other people to share them with. I loved the language, the descriptions, the poetic way that some passages demand to be re-read and examined. This is the very best of contemporary writing.

This is a novel about a particular side of London, I could feel that Kate Tempest really understood the places she was writing about, the nightclubs, the rich guys snorting enormous quantities, sending the money straight up their noses. The people who supply the drugs and how risky it all is. But this is so much more than all that, this is a novel of fear, love, attraction, home and power. Looking forward to the next Kate Tempest novel and heading to YouTube to watch her perform.

[Michael Livingston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about meaning and how to find it, about cities and communities, about love, fear, the excitement and confusion of life and about hope. Tempest is a creative hurricane - producing music, theatre, poetry and novels - she's an inspiring, imaginative and idealistic figure, and here she's produced a story that crystallises what she's about. There were a few moments of slightly awkward plotting, but the characters, the language and the genuine passion that flow through this book overpowered those minor concerns. Can't wait to see what she does next.

[Brona's Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Tempest is the woman of the moment in Sydney right now.

She's out here for the Sydney Writer's Festival. She's doing several speaking engagements including the opening address for the Festival that was held on Tuesday night.
She has also appeared on a number of TV and radio shows during her time here.

And, I think it's fair to say, that she has wowed, stunned and surprised everyone she has talked to.

Her dazzling, daring performance on Q&A has become one of those 'water cooler' conversations.

I've been reading her book, The Bricks That Built the Houses over the past week. I only had about 80 pages to go when I went to my day out at the Writer's Festival. I took it with me to read whilst waiting in the lines. So many people stopped me to ask me what I thought of it - it seemed that everyone wanted to talk about Tempest and her work to anyone who would listen.

So many people are curious. So many people want to know. So many people want a part of this.

What is it? What is this thing that Tempest has started?

http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/20...

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm actually a bit annoyed that I persevered with this and ultimately finished it, because the ending was so lacklustre. I would have put this as a 3 star rating because for the most part I enjoyed the writing style (I'm a big fan of Tempest's poetry), and I felt like it was going to build into something interesting. And there is a section towards the end that I enjoyed a lot more because it felt like there was a real climactic moment coming... and then it just went nowhere, did absolutely nothing. The main characters have interesting backstories, and I enjoyed finding out more about their history, but I absolutely did not need to hear about all the other secondary characters' backstories on top of that. Why not spend more time building up the main protagonists? At times I felt like it was simply to fill up page space to make what could have been a novella an almost 400 page novel. This is definitely not helping with my slight reading slump at the moment, but I persevered because I was hopeful for more and was ultimately let down.

[Kyra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pros:
- Clear voices. I couldn't get that accent out of my head
- Beautifully jagged poetry and language. I love a good simile and there were plenty here
- Interweaving plot/characters. Big fan of books that do this
- Was familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. Author has clearly got an eye for detail

Cons:
- One more reference to Uncle Ron's dirty dealings, from Becky's perspective, before it's revealed who he's working with, would have made it feel less forced/less surprising (I forgot about it because the one instance at the start wasn't enough to cement it in my head as a possibility)
- Wanted more about Becky and Harry
- Ending just kind of happened. I think I need to skim the last two chapters again for more closure

[Marthe Debyser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wat een knaller van een debuutroman! Zelfde niveau als hun poëzie en muziek zou ik zeggen

[b0yc0tt amaz0ñ · Rating 4 out of 5]

mijn e reader is helaas de meest ontrouwe reisgezel ooit, ze heeft het na 'met de fiets naar rome' opnieuw begeven tot heden. de hostel waar ik nu verblijf heeft een rekje met vergeten of achtergelaten boeken en tussen alle Portugese zat 1 Engelse parel naar de hand van Kae Tempest. Op zich al speciaal om een boek te lezen van iemand die je enkel kent als zanger/spokenword/poëet en daardoor droeg ik het boek vaak luidop zingend voor. het deed me denken aan 'een klein leven' van Hanya Yanagihara omdat je een gelijkaardige liefde voor de rauwe harde levendige stad voelt, in dit geval Zuid-Londen, en ook zijn er al die verschillende perspectieven, mensen met een rugzak en/of mensen gebukt onder de net niet ondraaglijke zwaarte van het leven, maar nooit zo heftig als bij Hanya Yanagihara. ik denk dat het ook de eerste keer was dat een queer romance op papier voor mij zo herkenbaar en aftastend en zacht en alles was,
de schrijfstijl was genieten, korte zinnen, erg filmisch en ook inhoudelijk het ridiculiseren van wij, mensen, hoe we gezien willen worden, gehoord, hoe we tonen en doen alsof, maar hoe we uiteindelijk alleen zijn, best deprimerend hoe accuraat hun omschrijvingen zijn, tegelijk grappig. het enige wat me kon storen was dat elk besproken leven op een soms onwaarschijnlijke manier verbonden was met dat van een ander personage maar desondanks genoot ik van begin tot eind en dat lag maar voor een klein deel aan mijn oeverloos gesnak naar boeken op deze boekenarme reis

[Franziska Nyffenegger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein schnelles Buch, ein grosses Buch und eines, das nach mehrfacher Lektüre verlangt. Die ersten zehn Seiten habe ich sicher zehn Mal gelesen und den Rest in einem Zug, ohne Pause, ohne Punkt und Komma, etwas, das eigentlich seit Jahren nicht mehr vorkommt. - Klar, auch diese Geschichte ist konstruiert und dass am Ende alles zusammen kommt, kein Zufall. Aber das Ganze ist so messerscharf, gnadenlos auch und notwendig, dass die Konstruktion beim Lesen vergessen geht.

[Kylie Maslen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a rare thing to be so moved and excited and engrossed in a book, and reading The Bricks that Built the Houses was a true privilege.

Full review up on book-plate here: http://book-plate.com/chapters/94-the...

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the plot is a little pedestrian but at the same time it was more complicated than I expected and wove together quite nicely. Occasionally a tad earnest but contains a lot of wonderful observations and excellent metaphor.

[Ella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I understand that this book has gotten generally good ratings on this site and even understand why people would like it. I just couldn't get into the story; something about it felt disingenuous to me, and I didn't love or appreciate Tempest's writing style.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an outstanding narrative voice Kate Tempest has. While the novel does move towards an established conflict and resolution, the real beauty of this book is the many interconnecting stories of people living in South-east London from all ages, backgrounds and cultures.

I'm not one for dog-earring pages, but there were so many phrases, passages, entire mini-narratives within this novel that I wish to return to, and I didn't have a pencil. Two examples:

Page 225: (in response to a well-meaning but hurtful comment at the family dinner table) 'Pete detonates the bomb strapped to his chest and his body explodes and splatters the room with his insides.'.

Page 228: 'She's carrying a jug that matches the plates on the table, she sets it down, and then, before sitting, she removes the lid from the stew and the steam rises up like its an advert for a happy home.'

The perfect novel for thinking about families, communities, relationships, and urban/city living.

[Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never read a book by a British author that isn't excessively whingy and downbeat..... And this book is no exception to that rule.

Seriously, please explain to me one more time how t o u g h life is in south east london *eye roll*.

But anyway, gee, *long low whistle* Miss Tempest is one cynical lady. And on occasion, some of her remarks hit the nail on the head.

Personally though, I don't enjoy books with no plot and no real character development, so even though this is beautifully lyrical (Tempest is a poet) it wasn't enough to save the book: was it worth a read, sure. Would I do it again, no.

The plot thickens for about 10 minutes at around the 288th page, and you start to think "finally", before a bitterly average ending, where literally nothing happens. Wholly unfulfilling tiresome.

To summarise--
Plot line: 0
Character development: 0
Life insight: 4/10
Poetiscim: 8/10

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am surrounded by criticism for this creation. I understand where they are coming from, but am I glad I am not from where they are. It is a narrow view, which only serves to highlight prejudice to things new.
Kate has told the story of a generation, with utter truth and poetry. She speaks to an age which is usually ignored in art, as nothing remarkable happens in your 20's except the slow shift in to the dilapidated politics of adulthood. She speaks to society, at large, and to the heart of readers, not to their intellect.
The same characters which populate her music and her poetry now sink from their sparkling roles on stage and in myth, respectively, on to the crowded streets of London. Like rule-breakers Joyce and Warhol, she builds bridges between the different art forms.
I won't accept a word against her without. So, BRING IT, high-nosed book snobs.

[Ada · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 estrelles justíssimes.

Em va costar molt entrar i, tot i que a partir de la meitat m'he sentit més intrigada amb la història, crec que ha estat perquè vaig escoltar el seu CD Everybody Down, dels quals la novel·la n'és una versió. M'he saltat forces paràgrafs, és que hi ha MOLTA palla, com si volgués omplir pàgines per tal de fer una novel·la mínimament llarga. Però hi ha moltes paraules que no et perds re de res de res si no les llegeixes, i això sempre és una mala senyal. En alguns fragments no escriu malament, però els diàlegs són bastant nefastos, allò que sembla que tots els personatges parlin igual. I bé, en general, com a novel·la, no funciona. Hi ha tantes casualitats, tots els personatges es troben de maneres tan absurdes, que sembla que South London sigui un poble de 40 habitants. I el final és precipitat, aleatori...què més?

[yenni m · Rating 5 out of 5]

easy 4.5

This is what I want in life. This is what I'm constantly searching for. My whole body erupting in all its various ways. Kae's words with my Self and its histories crashing into each other so good.

Usually I'm on a walk thinking about my energy and which corner to turn, but I'm listening to this with my eyes down, fully involved, unaware of anything or anyone else.

It's not even that the story had me seeing all the stars, but the truth and raw heart hammering through it all is rare and powerful.

THIS IS WHAT I'M SEARCHING FOR.

[Rowena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not enough stars for this book. Gut wrenching and brilliant. Stylistically intimidating. My first introduction to Kate Tempest. Now I'm listening to her albums and watching as much of her spoken word pieces online as I can. Tonight I watched her Brand New Ancients short films ... still feel breathless ... looking at my bookshelf and don't feel like I can choose another book to follow Kate Tempest ...

[Emma Bradshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is there nothing this woman can't do? An incredible talent. Well observed and totally absorbing. Every sentence is perfectly crafted and demands to be reread. I can't wait to see what Tempest does next.