Every Light in the House Burnin'

by Andrea Levy

The remarkable, emotional debut novel, both funny and moving, which was longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction, from the critically aclaimed Andrea Levy, author of the Orange Prize winning SMALL ISLAND and the Man Booker shortlisted THE LONG SONG.

'Better opportunity' - that's why Angela's dad sailed to England from America in 1948 on the Empire Windrush. Six months later her mum joined him in his one room in Earl's Court...

...Twenty years and four children later, Mr Jacob has become seriously ill and starts to move unsteadily through the care of the National Health Service. As Angela, his youngest, tries to help her mother through this ordeal, she finds herself reliving her childhood years, spent on a council estate in Highbury.

Genres: Fiction, British Literature, Historical Fiction, London, Contemporary, Family, Novels

306 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Andrea Levy was an English novelist, born in London to Jamaican parents. Her novels chronicled the experiences of the post-World War II generation of Jamaican immigrants in Britain. She was one of the first black British authors to achieve both critical and commercial success. Her novel Small Island won several major literary prizes: the Orange Prize for women's fiction, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the Whitbread Book of the Year award.

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Clair Atkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winston Jacob is, in many ways, a mystery to his daughter Angela. He arrived in England on the Empire Windrush in 1948 but he never speaks of his old life in Jamaica. Any questions are met with a shrug or a suck of the teeth.
Two days before he is due to retire, Winston develops a limp, and his health rapidly begins to fail. It is up to Angela to help ease the burden on her mother. As she spends more time with her parents, it casts both her father and her childhood years in a new light.
This is my first book by Andrea Levy. We decided we should read one of her books for book club as she sadly passed away this year, and this was the only one that no members had read. Looking at other Goodreads reviews, it seems to be the one people like least but I LOVED it. I do wonder if this is because I haven't read anything else by this author as other book club members were a bit 50/50 about it and if this is the case, I'm glad I read this first and wait in eager anticipation to read her others (I've already brought Small Island as this seemed by popular consensus to be a favourite).
Every Light in the House Burnin' I'm sure is semi-autobiographical. This book jumps backwards and forwards between timeframes which some book club members didn't like, but I didn't mind. We first hear about Angela's life as a young girl, in the mid 1960's, where she shares a cramped London flat with her 3 older siblings. Winston works for the Post Office (Angela never really know what he does there) and her mum is a teacher. The story is good at depicting the difficulties faced and sometimes overcome by a Jamaican family in 1960s London. We hear about the racial differences Angela encounters, her schooling, her friends and just about every aspect of her life. This was a fantastic social history - I'm ashamed to say I knew very little about Windrush but I have since read up on it. I love a book that makes me curious!
Interspersed with stories of Angela's childhood we cut to her father becoming ill (in the mid 1980s) and how she is called upon by her parents for support. He has cancer but her mother keeps the true cause of his illness a secret, telling him instead he has had a stroke. It is an interesting snapshot of the NHS and how frustrating care can be both for patients and their families - trying to get the right pain relief, finding people who can care for an ill person in their home and the hospice system, which is a relatively new concept when Winston falls ill.
Filled with wonderfully detailed observations, I adored this thought provoking book! I'm so glad to have read it and urge you to do so to!

[BookOfCinz Reading Retreat Host · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read August 2026
In re-reading this book, I was blown away by how much the author packed in this tiny novel. I love reading about a father-daughter relationship and this was felt deeply moving.


Read October 2014
I have always seen Levy's book but never got the opportunity till now to read one. I do feel like I have been missing out a bit.
"Every Light In The House Burning" gives a look into the lives of a Jamaican family living in London. I enjoyed the story but I felt a lot more could have been done to develop the characters. Levy made mention of things her dad did and I didn't know if she wanted to paint him a villain or a hero, I got mixed messages about most of the characters all the way through. Yes its good to give the information and let the readers form their own opinion but I felt too much was left up to me to decide.
A great read overall though.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This read like an intimate portrayal of family life, so much so that it felt like reading about the author's childhood, which no doubt she drew on.

A family in London, the children of immigrants from Jamaica, narrated from the point of view of the youngest child Anne, memories of moments in their family life that impacted them all, exquisitely portrayed characters and then the moment of decline, just after her father's retirement.

In one scene Anne is left with her father during their holiday at the beach, her mother and other siblings have gone out. Her father has spent most of the holiday lying on the couch, not at all tempted by the sandy beaches or the sea, but Anne is persistent. Reluctantly he agrees.

I smiled as I watched my Dad haul himself from the sofa. I waited for fifteen minutes before my Dad emerged from his bedroom. He was dressed in his grey suit. The only sign that he was about to take part in a leisure activity and not have a day at work was that he was not wearing a tie and had the top button of his shirt undone.

The challenges have only just begun. Anne wants to sit in the sun, an idea her father rejects, suggesting a secluded spot further back, where the icecream hut has created the only shade on the beach. He relents but refuses to join her in the water, too cold. After her swim, as she lies down to enjoy the warmth of the sun, a shadow looms.

'You shouldn't sit in the sun too long. You want to turn red like those English people - you shouldn't sit in the sun'
'Everybody else -'
'Cha', my dad insisted before I had time to finish? 'We're not like everybody else.'

The story turns towards their encounter with the father's decline and the navigation of the NHS health service, their lack of knowledge, the pain and difficulties encountered as a result, resolved only when the daughter pushes and insists on their behalf. It's full of those moments of perseverance and giving up, driven by a need, pushed back by intimidation and shame.
Anne offers to go and see the Doctor to ask for stronger pain medication.

'But,' my mum began, 'but you can't just go and see him. He's a busy man. He might not see you.' Her voice said 'go' and 'don't go' at the same time.

Aspects of the past come to light later on, were they secrets, those things family members never talk about, which end up buried and become secret-like. When an Aunt visits telling them how things are back home in Jamaica and asks about their newfound life in England, the land of opportunity, the things not said are loud in their omission. If there was regret it's been long buried, replaced by silence and resignation.

There are many light and humorous moments, interspersed with the reality of the struggle an immigrant family has in fitting in, within a culture where there are expectations about how to do things and underlying racism or indifference towards foreigners. They do their best to integrate and to pass on to their children their own values who only realise when they become adults how difficult it has been for them, and can be of help.

I knew this society better than my parents. My parents' strategy was to keep as quiet as possible in the hope that noone would know they had sneaked into this country. They wanted to be no bother at all. But I had grown up in its English ways. I could confront it, rail against it, fight it, because it was mine - a birthright.

[Monica **can't read fast enough** · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Every Light in the House is Burnin', Levy addresses family dynamics in a low key but impactful way. She also addresses social issues and how they affect the family in general. Levy exposes how sly and covert bigotry and racism can be via an interaction between Angela and her friend when she was young that really stood out for me. The scene was early in the story, but it really made an impact on me because of how subtly it was done. I felt how uncomfortable the exchange with Angela's friend Sonia and Sonia's mother made her feel. It really drove home how different and separate Angela must have felt in her small and mostly homogeneous community that she lived in.

In Angela's family, most significant events and situations aren't faced head on. Most things are danced around and talked about in opaque ways. As if not talking about what is happening openly would make things less real. Angela's family embraced the idea that if you didn't directly acknowledge anything, then things aren't really that bad. It felt as if everyone in Angela's family were connected by blood, but were separated by personal interests and goals.

Every Light in the House Burnin' was enjoyable in the way that Levy showed the very realistic way the family interacted with each other and how they dealt with life events. Getting everything from Angela's perspective as the youngest child was both poignant and funny at times. I look forward to reading more of Levy's work.

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[Maria Ivars · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvelous!
«Every Light in the House Burnin'» has made me reflect on many several issues. The storytelling is brilliant, the characters are thoroughly described and introduced to the readers, and the plot actually hits a nerve.

There have been some fragments that have been hard to me when it comes to bearing them.
[SPOILER] I have understood the pain that Angela mentions on several occasions; going through terminal cancer patients is so complicated that, without the slightest doubt, I dare to say that it is the most painful thing that I have ever experienced.

Andrea Levy has dealt with numerous interesting topics that we all should consider from time to time, combining them with various humorous passages that make the book easy to read.
I strongly encourage you to read it 💔.

[Noah Jai · Rating 5 out of 5]

love how Levy writes, so genuine and heartfelt. a real subtle but clear indictment of the way Britain treats its black citizens. the dads death is evident from the first chapter but still so horrible to read about. there's no way to avoid grieving his loss, despite his presence throughout the entire novel.

[Razieh Hafizi · Rating 5 out of 5]

تا اواسط کتاب فکر نمی‌کنی با چنین شاهکاری روبرو باشی
بیشتر شبیه این است که نشسته‌ای و عکس‌های یک آلبوم خانوادگی را می‌بینی. هر چند صفحه یک عکس...
فصل‌های اول برایت ماجراهای رندوم از زندگی یک خانواده است. یکی از بچگی‌ بچه‌ها یکی از نوجوانی‌شان یکی از بزرگسالی‌شان. اما وقتی به آخرهای داستان می‌رسی، چسبی نامرئی همه‌ی قطعات را به هم می‌چسباند...
دلنشین تلخ واقعی
تجربه‌ای عالی

[Beverley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a quick, easy read but I'm not quite sure what I think of it! It seemed to contain contradictions eg in Angela's feelings towards her father, and some of the episodes seemed unrelated as they weren't developed. If she was aiming to make it appear autobiographical, Levy succeeded, but I don't know if this was actually the purpose of the novel. Some parts were emotinally charged and even acutely relatable but it's not a book I'd rave over.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrea Levy, my and my Nan’s favourite author.

[Allison Thwaites · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book. This book has me spellbound right now. I have never, ever, in my life, related to a book like I have to this one.

My mother recommended this book to me and told me it was like a snapshot of her life growing up in England. With that, I was expecting to see some similarities between stories she'd told me of her childhood and the ones in this book but I wasn't expecting so many and I wasn't expecting some of them to be identical. This book tells part of my family's story and I'm just amazed by it. My brother and my sisters, these are stories that we can tell about our childhoods from the pet budgie, to the high schools we attended to the fact that Angela's father had a sibling she never knew about. My mother revealed to us earlier this year that she has a half sister we never knew about.

Andrea Levy in this book depicts an accurate portrayal of life for Caribbean families who migrated to England in the 50's and 60's. She shows you the racism, the disfunction, the hardship but it's all told through a childs voice which makes it easier to bear and allows us to see the humor and the positive sides, not just the doom and gloom.

I loved that the author went back and forth between the past and the present. Following Angela's father as he deals with his illness and the bureaucracy that hinders his treatment was hard to read. As a thirty something year old, I'm very aware that that is going to be something I'm going to have to deal with in a few years and it's scary, the thought of your parents being sick and needing care. If and when the time comes, I hope I'll be able to remember my childhood and upbringing like Angela did to help me get through.

I loved everything about this book.

[Edwin John Moorhouse Marr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know that when she started writing, Levy said that she could not find books about her life. She couldn't find books about being a black, working-class woman in London, so she realised she would have to write them. Yet the strange thing is, reading ELITHB, I felt this was about my life too. As a white, middle-class man from rural England, Levy managed to just capture family life in such a sympathetic and intelligent way that I could relate to a huge amount of what she describes. And that is why Levy is one of my favourite writers. She is one of very few writers that I have loved everything she has written, she writes with such humanity, such compassion, yet her characters are far from angels, they are flawed, human and contradictory sometimes. Yet they are always human, they are always believable. They always feel like people you know. This is a truly fantastic book that I think that everyone who reads it will be able to see elements of their life within it, it is at times funny, but more often heartbreakingly sad. It invites us to draw connections between the past and the present, to see history repeating itself. It is truly a fantastic achievement.

[Orla Hegarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pseudo memoir and first novel by a child of black immigrants to working class London in post world war two.

I love how she captures her feelings of loss via the retelling of parts of her childhood alongside current events. Ordinary lives containing 'ordinary' events - including racism and sexism - and written in a captivating manner.

[Laila Alodaat · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a marvellous book! Andrea Levy brilliantly documented the unspoken absence of entitlement expected from first generation migrants in England, followed by the very costly semi-entitlement of their children who answer “I was born in this country” to the regular question that comes with a look at their skin colour. She skilfully showed how wanting to be “no bother” brought the family into the agony of being lost in an overstretched health system and how being foreign made their experience different despite having been in this country for decades and calling it home.
I was fascinated how the portrayal of Mr and Mrs Jacobs identified with the stereotype yet went far beyond it. The hard working mother of “3 children in 3 years” was also an avid learner, her insatiable longing for knowledge and nights spent studying for a degree at the edge of her bed didn’t prevent her from being overlooked when she needed the system to allow her dying husband some dignity. This book touched me in more ways than I can explain. Absolutely brilliant.

[Ben Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never had a book sneak up on me like this. This might sound like an insult at first, but there is absolute nothing (quote unquote) "special" about the writing: it isn't flowery or particularly elavated - just super...normal.

But that isn't an insult at all, because this book wouldn't be half as good if it was written in any other way. The normalcy of it is what allows the book to sneak up behind you like a little fuckin ninja and before you know it, it has taken you to from a relatively chill and light exploration of childhood and otherness, to a really harrowing and kind of devastating place.

[Mehvish Irshad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Opening Passage: My dad once drank six cups of tea and ate six buttered rolls.Not in the course of a day, which would be nothing unusual. No, he drank six cups of tea and ate six buttered rolls one after the other to avoid them being wasted.

It's hard to think of what to say about this book. It was emotional, sometimes, and then at times highly mundane. It feels like an ordinary memoir because of its essential banality. The writing lends itself to the normalcy of the everyday life of an everyday family.
The story is centered around a Jamaican family living in London and is partially about their struggles dealing with racism. But the essence of the tale lies in the protagonist and the family's relationship with the father.
The chapters of the book are divided into ordinary subjects such as "The Cat" and "The Telly", the later chapters that don't have a name are the ones dealing with the father's illness, and are all told from the point of view of the youngest child in the family, Angela.
Right off the bat the reader gets a sense of the old fashioned, slightly selfish and in-compassionate personality of the father.

"My dad was a man - most dads are. But my dad had been taught or was shown or picked up that a man was certain things and a woman was others."

"A man did not have to be loving and affectionate. A man had to know everything and never be seen not to understand the world. A man would help around the house only when asked but a man always emptied the bins.
My dad was a man and he did what he thought was expected of him but couldn't understand when more was demanded."

The apparent injustice of the father is softened slightly by the fact that this book was written about a time when families weren't expected to be as emotionally open and frank with one another. Father's in general may not have been the compassionate parent especially in the lives of their daughters.
But that does not take away from the frustration in the protagonist who expressed on multiple occasions that she wished she belonged to another family. Very little of it had to do with being colored, a lot to do with family dynamics.

"How can you explain your family conventions - the secrecies, the codes, the quirks, to someone who's never lived them?"

The father, who had a tendency to disregard his children's wants and desires without a thought, made it normal for the family to not expect much of him. It was a way of life, so it never harbored any feelings of resentment.

"My dad would often spend whole weekends fiddling with the television. He would take the back off, remove valves, tinker with wires, take bits out and hold them up to the light. When we protested that we'd like to watch something, he'd look at us incredulously and say "That's why people don't like to have children."

The story goes through this family's life of unfairness borne in silence, spoken and unspoken grudges, wishes unfulfilled and helplessness in the face of 'the way things are'. Or were in this case.
It brings to light the question of how these factors tarnish a family's sense of wholesomeness, and whether giving up or giving in is really for the greater good.

I kept waiting for the part of the book where something so unbelievably unjust would take place that it would cause a blowup. But in a true-to-life kind of story, these things don't come about and in a true-to-life kind of way, they didn't. What did come about was the father's illness that was painful and drawn out. I can't tell if it was supposed to cause sympathy or just showcase that no matter how unfair the circumstances may be, families do not abandon you.
It was emotional and heart wrenching but only if you put yourself in the shoes of a person watching their father slowly die. Because the protagonist herself actually goes into very little emotional detail. The most satisfying passage in the book finally came:

"As I listened to him scream, I began to get angry with him. An anger I could hardly bear to feel. Why couldn't he die gracefully, with dignity? Fading silently from life with a gentle smile and a touching last request. So his family could stand round his death bed and weep and mourn their loss.No, he had to die kicking and screaming, being pulled from life, being robbed. The loudest noise he had ever made in his life. The biggest protest. The first rail against injustice. Why now? Because he didn't want to die and he didn't want to go, he hadn't finished yet. Why now? When the pain and embarrassment could rob me of my grief?"

The writing in this book prevents me from selecting any lines that stood out. I found it easier to select passages that as a whole would be more significant than lines. The book has its funny moments and it's heart crunches but just like in life, they occur once every few mundane events later.

Favorite Passages:

1. I put the stress on the word father>, which always sounded so grand and middle-class. It was hard to imagine my dad as a father. (pg.89)
2. After that present, I asked my dad if I could have money for Christmas. Money was a much safer option and it didn't last as long. (pg. 106)
3. Traditions handed through the decades which were untouched by time or imagination. (pg.181)
4. In that building were experiences waiting to test me. There was pain there - not physical, not for me, but pain that you can't see coming, that smacks you inside and pulls and rips at you. (pg. 239)
5. The loss of life that really happened weeks ago had finally ended. (pg. 246)

[Mary Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Angela lives in a council estate with her Mum, Dad, two sisters and brother. The story is based on her life in England as a black person in the 60s and 70s. Her father is an enigma to her and her descriptions of their interactions are indicative of a man holding on strongly to his emotions. The sharing of the casual racism is scary and the poverty, poor housing and a health service that works best for those in the know gives a vivid and uncomfortable reality for West Indians in Britain. I couldn’t help wondering how much has actually changed.

[Nailya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I surprised myself by just how much I loved this book.

Andrea Levy's semi-autobiographical debut novel definitely has the feel of an early work compared to her more mature (and much more famous) books such as Small Island and The Long Song. However, Every Light in the House Burnin' has so much charm and soul that it really makes up for the occasional lack of structure or in-depth character development. Levy made me completely fall in love with the family at its centre and the world of Caribbean families in the UK in the 1960s and 70s.

The novel follows the relationship of Agnes/Anne, a second generation Caribbean Black British woman, with her father. We follow the 'present day' (80s?) storyline in which Winston, the father, falls ill and eventually dies of cancer, and vignettes from Anne's life growing up in the 60s and 70s. Levy created a complex, humane, and loving portrait of a Black man of the Windrush generation, thereby also providing much-needed representation of Black masculinity in British literature. Levy writes the 'past' storyline with kind humour and compassion. Agnes and her family encounter some horrendous racism, which is only one aspect of their lives. We see a full and deep portrait of this family, with a focus on Andrea and her parents. I liked how positive the representation of Black family life was - often, these types of books tend to descend into trauma porn depicting dysfunctional families and/or tyrannical patriarchs. The 'present' story is complex and moving, discussing the conflicting feelings Agnes has about her father in the last months of his life. The novel is also very critical of the state of the NHS and the palative care available in the UK, especially for people who might struggle to navigate 'the system'.

Levy is a master of show, don't tell. Every scene reveals something about the family and their position in the UK (I especially loved the visit of an Auntie from Jamaica and the way in which the parents were trying to show that their lives in the UK are better than they might be in reality). The personality of Agnes herself and her relationship with her sisters in particular could have been explored in a bit more depth.

[(TraParentesi) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un po' memoir (si dice così?), un po' lessico famigliare (è già stato elevato a genere letterario il titolo di Ginzburg?) è uno spaccato - commovente come il petricore - della vita quotidiana di una famiglia stile Cosby Show.
(E dell'emigrazione giamaicana nel dopoguerra inglese).

[Jem Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrea Levy - what a writer. Couldn’t stop reading.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good solid read. I enjoyed, if that could be the word, the details of the narrator’s father’s illness and death more than her childhood.

[annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

some solid writing, but overall a bit slow and lacked character development. wanted more of the relationship between angela and her dad. not a bad read but not a favorite

[Victoria Frow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good. Nice heartwarming story easy to read. Loved getting to know the characters and seeing how they worked through their lives. Recommend

[Lily Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Michaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely sobbed

[Jane Ayres · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Moving, compassionate, brimming with humanity. I cried and I got angry and I laughed - and so many of the situations and experiences resonated with me, growing up in the sixties and seventies, and caring for terminally ill parents whilst navigating the health system and trying so hard to do what you think best, only to meet obstacles at every turn. Wonderful writing.

[Dawn Boys · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh…..I just waited for something to happen, yet it never did. Several evenings of my life I’ll never get back. 😔

[Terra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Questo libro mi ha colpita al cuore perché ha riacceso dolori e ansie che ho vissuto, ma non è solo questo. È anche divertente e raccontato bene. Mi ha fatto male e l'ho amato molto.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second Andrea Levy novel I've read. This is her debut, and I enjoyed it. It's a moving work full of humor and one larger than life character, Winston Jacobs. In the beginning I thought it was a coming of age story; it is in some respects, but it's a heart warming story of a man's love for his family. I read it as the narrator's, Angela Jacobs, the youngest child, tribute to her father.

Levy still manages to deal with the themes of racism, colorism, chauvinism, and the struggles a family finds in dealing with the healthcare system in England. These are framed with the ups and downs of an Jamaican immigrant family.

This book had me laughing out loud. Levy has a true talent to invoke laughter. I rank this novel ahead of her Fruit of the Lemon. I've yet to read the others.

Second Reading Reflections

After reading this book again, I read it with a different set of eyes. First, Levy passed this year; and it hurts knowing she’ll never write again. Second, reading this in the wake of my own father’s passing hit me hard causing tears to flow. I really appreciate the father being central to this story because my father was and is central to my story.

Now I have one more of her novels to read. Andrea Levy has blessed me these past few years. I’m still mourning her passing. God bless her memory.

[Siobhan Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. This is the second Andrea Levy I have read and I loved this even more than Small Island. I cried and laughed out load (both on the tube). Andrea writes in away that taps straight into my emotions and I can visualize the scenes so easily. Would recommend this book 100%

[Dannia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every Light in the House Burnin’ is the kind of book I can appreciate more than I necessarily enjoyed. It was a slow burner for me, and for a lot of the novel I found myself waiting for something significant to happen. There is no dramatic plot driving the story forward, no huge revelation or moment where everything suddenly shifts. Instead, Andrea Levy gives us something much quieter: a collection of seemingly ordinary moments in the life of a Black British family. It is simplistic in its storytelling, but by the end I wondered whether that simplicity was actually the point. Racism, family, illness, belonging and identity are not presented as extraordinary events here. They are simply woven into everyday life.

What I found most interesting was Levy’s portrayal of racism. It isn’t always loud, explicit or accompanied by some huge confrontation. Sometimes it exists in an interaction, an assumption, an institution or in the subtle understanding that you are being treated differently. There is something particularly powerful about seeing this through the eyes of a child who doesn’t necessarily have the language to fully understand what she is witnessing. As readers, we can recognise the prejudice and inequalities around her even when she cannot. And because the novel is set within a Jamaican family trying to build a life in Britain, there is also that constant tension between being British and still being made to feel as though you don’t completely belong.

I also appreciated how much of the novel is simply about family. The father, in particular, stayed with me. His pride, stubbornness and determination to provide exist alongside the indignities he experiences as a Black Jamaican man in Britain. As the novel moves towards his illness, the story becomes less about waiting for something to “happen” and more about recognising the significance of all those ordinary memories that came before. There is love within this family, but Levy doesn’t sentimentalise it. They irritate one another, misunderstand each other and carry their own frustrations. It felt recognisable in that way. Families are rarely made up of perfect declarations of love; sometimes love is hidden in routine, sacrifice and simply continuing to show up.

I can’t say I was completely gripped by the novel, and there were moments when its slow pace made it difficult for me to connect with it emotionally. But I also don’t think this is a book that is trying to grip you in the conventional sense. Its strength lies in documenting a life and a version of Britishness that literature has historically pushed to the margins. There is something quietly thought-provoking about a novel that refuses to make racism the only defining feature of a Black family’s existence while also refusing to pretend it isn’t there. I finished it thinking that perhaps the ordinary nature of the story is exactly what gives it meaning. These lives don’t need extraordinary circumstances to be worthy of being written about.