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Saving Grace
Saving Grace is the story of four twenty-somethings - Grace, Vicky, Jess and Maxine - who live in a ramshackle house in a rapidly gentrifying East London...until the landlord announces he's selling up and they've got four weeks to leave.
New plans form effortlessly for the others, but the odds feel stacked against Grace as she struggles to find self-fulfilment, a half decent job or even a roof over her head.
New plans form effortlessly for the others, but the odds feel stacked against Grace as she struggles to find self-fulfilment, a half decent job or even a roof over her head.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published November 3, 2016
3 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 9, 2017
Bought this for my daughter, also called Grace, for Christmas, but she left it here. It was perhaps too close to the truth - she lives in London, and had just received an eviction notice from her landlord for her shared flat in Bethnal Green. She set out on a quest for somewhere to live which mirrors what happens to her namesake here. Predatory landlords, grotty premises, expensive beyond belief. Definitely accurate. The book also covers day to day life - racism, misogyny, dashed dreams, dead end jobs, envy, harassment, drunken holidays, NHS shortages (she spends a few days in hospital) - with a little optimism at the end. It is funny, painful, sharp.
(My daughter has now found somewhere, thanks for asking).
(My daughter has now found somewhere, thanks for asking).
December 20, 2021
I am really enjoying the graphic memoirs I’ve been chancing upon these days. The latest is Grace Wilson’s memoir about her days of struggle as an art graduate.
Grace works as an assistant in an art supplies store, and lives with her three friends sharing a rented apartment in London. The rent is way above what they can afford, the house is nearly falling apart, and the landlord is a bit of a schmuck who never fulfils his promise to finish those house repairs. One morning, the girls get a shock when he announces that he is going to sell the house. They have one month to find another place. From here, we follow Grace in her frustrating efforts to find a place to stay in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
I thought this was quite an honest look at the lives of young students in an economically unforgiving city like London. Many cities in Europe are going through a housing crisis and this is a sharp commentary, which shows the tangible effects on some of the most vulnerable parts of the population. The situation is so desperate that Grace is prepared to accept the most deplorable conditions if it means she gets a small corner to sleep in at night.
Apart from the housing problem, the book also explores the dynamics of the friendship between the four friends. This part was bittersweet and funny with a touch of despair as they talk about their bad jobs, mediocre relationships, and great dreams. Everyone’s trying to figure out what next and they seem to have got some idea. Everyone except Grace.
A quick read but an impactful one.
Grace works as an assistant in an art supplies store, and lives with her three friends sharing a rented apartment in London. The rent is way above what they can afford, the house is nearly falling apart, and the landlord is a bit of a schmuck who never fulfils his promise to finish those house repairs. One morning, the girls get a shock when he announces that he is going to sell the house. They have one month to find another place. From here, we follow Grace in her frustrating efforts to find a place to stay in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
I thought this was quite an honest look at the lives of young students in an economically unforgiving city like London. Many cities in Europe are going through a housing crisis and this is a sharp commentary, which shows the tangible effects on some of the most vulnerable parts of the population. The situation is so desperate that Grace is prepared to accept the most deplorable conditions if it means she gets a small corner to sleep in at night.
Apart from the housing problem, the book also explores the dynamics of the friendship between the four friends. This part was bittersweet and funny with a touch of despair as they talk about their bad jobs, mediocre relationships, and great dreams. Everyone’s trying to figure out what next and they seem to have got some idea. Everyone except Grace.
A quick read but an impactful one.
November 6, 2017
This was a really good read! In the stories technicalities themselves, it wasn't extraordinary or anything that hasn't been done before, but it was definitely a fun, quirky read which highlights some of the trials and tribulations of being a 20-something year old and attempting to navigate oneself around the world in a sufficient way. It highlights some of the issues that many of us are faced with: crappy landlords, friendship issues and trying to figure out where you want to be. It's a lot of fun and I definitely found the artwork extremely appealing and fun - the style in which it's coloured is very captivating and this added so much depth to the story as a whole.
I would definitely recommend this one - it's a light, quick read that doesn't require much brain space (excellent if stressed!), and is a lot of fun with lots of humour/amusement tangled within. Definitely a great experience!
I would definitely recommend this one - it's a light, quick read that doesn't require much brain space (excellent if stressed!), and is a lot of fun with lots of humour/amusement tangled within. Definitely a great experience!
November 9, 2016
A completely spot on depiction of life as a scrabbling 20 something in London. Bittersweet, funny and alarmingly accurate. I loved it.
August 20, 2017
Saving Grace is a wonderfully precise description of what life has in store for London girls in their twenties in 2016. Namely, a struggle to find a place to live, a half-decent job, a purpose to your life, enough money for a pint, and a casual conversation that would not turn into a festival of misogyny.
I am yet to try house-hunting in London, but I have done it under very similar circumstances in Oxford (recently voted the most unaffordable place to live within the country, hooray), and it has been an absolutely ghastly experience. In her autobiographical graphic novel, Wilson has shown the sad and funny sides of what is familiar to many. Films, friends, parties, travels you cannot quite afford provide a welcome distraction from a job that, inevitably, brings you face to face with discrimination, racism, entitlement, underpaid services, etc. etc. More than a personal memoir, Saving Grace reads as a contemporary portrait of the capital, with its schools, hospitals, pubs, shops, streets, gentrification and ruins, and people.
The narrative has a warm sense of humour and the images remain bright and approachable even when the topics are most difficult or unpleasant. Wilson does not shy away from vignettes casually depicting vomiting or urination, for that, too, is London – as much as is Madame, permanently residing at an opulent hotel with her dog.
Apart from the drawing style, I have enjoyed Saving Grace for its immediacy. This is not a recollection of a past; these are very recent events. In fact, some of them might just happen to you and your friends tomorrow.
I am yet to try house-hunting in London, but I have done it under very similar circumstances in Oxford (recently voted the most unaffordable place to live within the country, hooray), and it has been an absolutely ghastly experience. In her autobiographical graphic novel, Wilson has shown the sad and funny sides of what is familiar to many. Films, friends, parties, travels you cannot quite afford provide a welcome distraction from a job that, inevitably, brings you face to face with discrimination, racism, entitlement, underpaid services, etc. etc. More than a personal memoir, Saving Grace reads as a contemporary portrait of the capital, with its schools, hospitals, pubs, shops, streets, gentrification and ruins, and people.
The narrative has a warm sense of humour and the images remain bright and approachable even when the topics are most difficult or unpleasant. Wilson does not shy away from vignettes casually depicting vomiting or urination, for that, too, is London – as much as is Madame, permanently residing at an opulent hotel with her dog.
Apart from the drawing style, I have enjoyed Saving Grace for its immediacy. This is not a recollection of a past; these are very recent events. In fact, some of them might just happen to you and your friends tomorrow.
May 23, 2021
The dodgy landlords that appear in your house with no notice, the dodgy flats, the Sports Direct mug! The creepy guys, the zero-hour contracts, the expensive everything!
I lived in London for over 3 years, and it's going to be 4 years in July since I left.
And despite the prices and the struggles, I still miss and love it.
This was such a real depiction of how it is to live and survive in London in your early twenties... It really hit home.
I was stopping and showing stuff to my London-born boyfriend.
It is nothing really special, it is a quick read, but it is an honest, fun and nice read. And the details are so good and nice.
I lived in London for over 3 years, and it's going to be 4 years in July since I left.
And despite the prices and the struggles, I still miss and love it.
This was such a real depiction of how it is to live and survive in London in your early twenties... It really hit home.
I was stopping and showing stuff to my London-born boyfriend.
It is nothing really special, it is a quick read, but it is an honest, fun and nice read. And the details are so good and nice.
August 8, 2017
If you want to know what is happening in London right now in terms of housing and trying to make it then this book is a great one to read. The illustrations are quite beautiful and colourful but its the story that grips you and draws you in. Brilliant!
February 23, 2023
Sucks you down into despondency until the very end. Then there's hope. Just like the very best of downbeat British comedic stories (The Office, This is England)
March 8, 2020
Scarily accurate, definitely takes me back!
January 3, 2020
Another graphic novel, read in the library. It was good, easy/quick read despite pagecount. Insights about rent crisis and gentrification, that would be familiar to people who've lived in London and other big cities. Also had a few other parts of interest, regarding the relationship of the main women characters and their surroundings. Drawing was also not bad.
March 23, 2021
Great graphic novel about living life in London, I picked this up in a sweet little second hand book shop and thus is my second time reading it. Easy reading, great story line and I like how it loops in on it self at the end. Great inspiration for any artists also who want to maybe start a graphic novel
March 22, 2019
A story of our times, this is a super graphic novel about a young woman struggling to survive in the ultra expensive city that is London. I can totally relate to the story as my adult children are going through the same challenges.
January 15, 2022
4.7 Absolutely spot on depiction of life as a 20 something in London, so much so it's almost freaky. Beautiful artwork. Has motivated me to see if I can turn my journal into some kind of comic, starting as I type!
January 16, 2018
Wow, @ me next time, Grace Wilson.
March 4, 2018
Grace Wilson's graphic memoir narrates an art graduate's struggle to find a room to rent in London, that is hilariously perceptive and visually tantalising.
June 19, 2021
I had a good laugh. Totally spot on. It ends somewhat abruptly, tho.
June 25, 2021
Funny and relatable as fuck
September 18, 2022
Come for the tragicomic descriptions of a millennial struggling in London, stay for the genius little details scattered across the pages. Great colouring to boot!
August 26, 2023
Review to come
July 17, 2024
A great graphic novel about feeling aimless and procrastination.
October 23, 2025
I really liked this! Such a good portrayal of post-austerity Britain, yikes. It seems like the author has disappeared off the face of the earth though?? What happened to her!
February 4, 2017
This was great,it felt like a really light read but touched on some really important subjects like racism and casual misogyny.
December 3, 2016
The drawings are quite cool.
January 2, 2017
Lighthearted and funny, cool art style, very nice
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews