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Foreigners
A powerful and affecting new book from Caryl a brilliant hybrid of reportage, fiction, and historical fact that tells the stories of three black men whose lives speak resoundingly to the place and role of the foreigner in English society.
Francis Barber, “given” to the great eighteenth-century writer Samuel Johnson, more companion than servant, afforded an unusual depth of freedom that, after Johnson’s death, hastened his wretched demise . . . Randolph Turpin, who made history in 1951 by defeating Sugar Ray Robinson, becoming Britain’s first black world-champion boxer, a top-class fighter for twelve years whose life ended in debt and despair . . . David Oluwale, a Nigerian stowaway who arrived in Leeds in 1949, the events of whose life called into question the reality of English justice, and whose death at the hands of police in 1969 served as a wake-up call for the entire nation.
Each of these men’s stories is rendered in a different, perfectly realized voice. Each illuminates the complexity and drama that lie behind the simple notions of haplessness that have been used to explain the tragedy of these lives. And each explores, in entirely new ways, the themes—at once timeless and urgent—that have been at the heart of all of Caryl Phillips’s remarkable belonging, identity, and race.
Francis Barber, “given” to the great eighteenth-century writer Samuel Johnson, more companion than servant, afforded an unusual depth of freedom that, after Johnson’s death, hastened his wretched demise . . . Randolph Turpin, who made history in 1951 by defeating Sugar Ray Robinson, becoming Britain’s first black world-champion boxer, a top-class fighter for twelve years whose life ended in debt and despair . . . David Oluwale, a Nigerian stowaway who arrived in Leeds in 1949, the events of whose life called into question the reality of English justice, and whose death at the hands of police in 1969 served as a wake-up call for the entire nation.
Each of these men’s stories is rendered in a different, perfectly realized voice. Each illuminates the complexity and drama that lie behind the simple notions of haplessness that have been used to explain the tragedy of these lives. And each explores, in entirely new ways, the themes—at once timeless and urgent—that have been at the heart of all of Caryl Phillips’s remarkable belonging, identity, and race.
235 pages, Hardcover
First published September 13, 2007
11 people are currently reading
179 people want to read
About the author
Caryl Phillips
53 books218 followers Caryl Phillips was born in St.Kitts and came to Britain at the age of four months. He grew up in Leeds, and studied English Literature at Oxford University.
He began writing for the theatre and his plays include Strange Fruit (1980), Where There is Darkness (1982) and The Shelter (1983). He won the BBC Giles Cooper Award for Best Radio Play of the year with The Wasted Years (1984). He has written many dramas and documentaries for radio and television, including, in 1996, the three-hour film of his own novel The Final Passage. He wrote the screenplay for the film Playing Away (1986) and his screenplay for the Merchant Ivory adaptation of V.S.Naipaul's The Mystic Masseur (2001) won the Silver Ombu for best screenplay at the Mar Del Plata film festival in Argentina.
His novels are: The Final Passage (1985), A State of Independence (1986), Higher Ground (1989), Cambridge (1991), Crossing the River (1993), The Nature of Blood (1997), A Distant Shore (2003), Dancing in the Dark (2005), In the Falling Snow (2009), The Lost Child (2015), A View of the Empire at Sunset (2018) and Another Man in the Street (2025). His non-fiction: The European Tribe (1987), The Atlantic Sound (2000), A New World Order (2001), Foreigners (2007), and Colour Me English (2011). He is the editor of two anthologies: Extravagant Strangers: A Literature of Belonging (1997) and The Right Set: An Anthology of Writing on Tennis (1999). His work has been translated into over a dozen languages.
He was named Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year in 1992 and was on the 1993 Granta list of Best of Young British Writers. His literary awards include the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a British Council Fellowship, a Lannan Foundation Fellowship, and Britain's oldest literary award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, for Crossing the River which was also shortlisted for the 1993 Booker Prize. A Distant Shore was longlisted for the 2003 Booker Prize, and won the 2004 Commonwealth Writers Prize; Dancing in the Dark won the 2006 PEN/Beyond the Margins Award. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Society of the Arts, and recipient of the 2013 Anthony N. Sabga Caribbean Award for Excellence.
He has taught at universities in Ghana, Sweden, Singapore, Barbados, India, and the United States, and in 1999 was the University of the West Indies Humanities Scholar of the Year. In 2002-3 he was a Fellow at the Centre for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. Formerly Henry R. Luce Professor of Migration and Social Order at Columbia University, he is presently Professor of English at Yale University. He is an Honorary Fellow of The Queen's College, Oxford University.
A regular contributor to The Guardian and The New Republic, his most recent book is, Another Man in the Street.
(taken from carylphillips.com official web site)
He began writing for the theatre and his plays include Strange Fruit (1980), Where There is Darkness (1982) and The Shelter (1983). He won the BBC Giles Cooper Award for Best Radio Play of the year with The Wasted Years (1984). He has written many dramas and documentaries for radio and television, including, in 1996, the three-hour film of his own novel The Final Passage. He wrote the screenplay for the film Playing Away (1986) and his screenplay for the Merchant Ivory adaptation of V.S.Naipaul's The Mystic Masseur (2001) won the Silver Ombu for best screenplay at the Mar Del Plata film festival in Argentina.
His novels are: The Final Passage (1985), A State of Independence (1986), Higher Ground (1989), Cambridge (1991), Crossing the River (1993), The Nature of Blood (1997), A Distant Shore (2003), Dancing in the Dark (2005), In the Falling Snow (2009), The Lost Child (2015), A View of the Empire at Sunset (2018) and Another Man in the Street (2025). His non-fiction: The European Tribe (1987), The Atlantic Sound (2000), A New World Order (2001), Foreigners (2007), and Colour Me English (2011). He is the editor of two anthologies: Extravagant Strangers: A Literature of Belonging (1997) and The Right Set: An Anthology of Writing on Tennis (1999). His work has been translated into over a dozen languages.
He was named Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year in 1992 and was on the 1993 Granta list of Best of Young British Writers. His literary awards include the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a British Council Fellowship, a Lannan Foundation Fellowship, and Britain's oldest literary award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, for Crossing the River which was also shortlisted for the 1993 Booker Prize. A Distant Shore was longlisted for the 2003 Booker Prize, and won the 2004 Commonwealth Writers Prize; Dancing in the Dark won the 2006 PEN/Beyond the Margins Award. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Society of the Arts, and recipient of the 2013 Anthony N. Sabga Caribbean Award for Excellence.
He has taught at universities in Ghana, Sweden, Singapore, Barbados, India, and the United States, and in 1999 was the University of the West Indies Humanities Scholar of the Year. In 2002-3 he was a Fellow at the Centre for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. Formerly Henry R. Luce Professor of Migration and Social Order at Columbia University, he is presently Professor of English at Yale University. He is an Honorary Fellow of The Queen's College, Oxford University.
A regular contributor to The Guardian and The New Republic, his most recent book is, Another Man in the Street.
(taken from carylphillips.com official web site)
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 9, 2024
My god, what a wallop these short stories packed. The story, Made in Wales was absolutely heartbreaking. What a writing voice. So objective and so passive (like Morgan Freeman voiceovers) but eventually throttles with pangs of alienated anger and confusion.
April 22, 2024
*book read for uni*
First and second story meh… third one top
Some quotes
^In fact, there was nobody to talk to about how you really felt about things, so you just kept your mouth shut and pretend to behave and hoped that the drugs wouldn’t make you any more mad.^
^he could have been safe and invisible in different parts of the city, but he didn’t want to disappear. He wanted to be seen, and Leeds was his battleground- his home- and he wasn’t going to leave his home.^
December 26, 2020
Foreigners comprises three novellas. Each deals with a real life. The first, “Doctor Johnson’s Watch”, reveals the life of Johnson’s Black manservant, Francis Barber. The second, “Made in Wales”, relates the main events in the life of the Black boxer, Randolph Turpin. And the final novella examines the case of David Oluwale, a Black immigrant worker persecuted by the police. The three works span from 1752 to 2006 and chart, with some irony, the extent to which a Black individual is always a foreigner within the diaspora. Their content is biographical, without a doubt, but Phillips is interested in something more than biography. His concern throughout the three novellas —or is this a novel?— is the narrative voice and the truths that it might tell.
In 1967, one of the great experimentalists of the last century, William Golding, published a novel as three linked novellas. This wasThe Pyramid. In essence, Foreigners is a set of linked narratives. They spark off one another, rubbing like flints, opening flickering questions. In each, the narrative voice is key. Foreigners is a fine fictional experiment. The first novel is a finely crafted masterpiece. Written in the style of the C18 novel, the life of Francis Barber is told with clarity. Stylistically, the pitch is exact, presenting the arrogant and unified voice of its narrator through an English that never falls into pastiche.
“…there were soon few within the doctor’s circle, who found either sympathy or concern for the negro’s welfare. Within a few years of his arrival in Lichfield, the careless Barber, had also, much to the dismay of his few remaining supporters, managed to fully deplete the capital which had been set aside to provide him with an annuity.” (p.21).
Such measured prose could be belong to either Equiano or Fielding, yet what betrays its narrator continually as White is his emphasis on capital and the racist assumptions of the C18: Barber lacked the rational guidance of the White race. This section of Foreigners builds towards a sentimental gesture worthy of Sterne.
The first novella, in Foreigners, closing at it does with the severe illness of Frances Barber, brings the point of writing to around 1800. Historically, the reader is at a liminal point, as one century becomes another. The second novella recreates a similar borderline. It closes with a mention of a statue erected to the boxer Randolph Turpin, in 2001, and a 2006 interview with his daughters, Annette and Charmaine. The style in this second section is typical of C20 journalistic prose, rather detached, without character, but is transformed in the final pages as Turpin is seen through the eyes of his family and the daughters are allowed to speculate on the statue erected in his honour. One tantalising aspects of Golding’s novelist technique was the reversal of perspective at the last minute. And this thought would appear to be in Phillip’s mind in the first two novellas: narrator one is presented with a meeting that could have transformed his understanding, yet he falls back into the prejudiced beliefs of his time: it would have been better for Barber to become Quashey once more and have returned to Jamaica because England was unsuitable for the Black temperament; narrator two begins to see that his narrative of Turpin is a cliché and emotionally deeper than he has described. Written from the outside, the two novellas are the opposite of the form that Phillips has avoided: the emotional first-person slave narrative. They look upon two enslaved (though supposedly liberated) lives to investigate the consciousness of the narrator and the kind of fictions that different centuries favour.
In the final novella, there is a deliberate lack of unity. Unity of voice is what the narrators in the first two novellas achieve. A comparison between Kesper Aspden’s Nationality:Wog and “Northern Lights”, which deal with the same material, helps to illustrate the interests in the closing of Foreigners. Aspden’s factual work is written as a piece of crime investigating, a surveying of evidence, from which a portrait of David Oluwale emerges. The book is intelligently and sympathetically written. But more interests Phillips than the case of David Oluwale: his interest is in history and the dislocation that occurs when personal history collides with it. Just as the first two novellas were held together by a unity of voice, so the third novella becomes a collection of fragmented voices, all of which struggle to cohere as they mime the problem of identity and coherence within the diaspora. Reading the third novella is like reading vocal points in time—from scattered islands. The voices range from the emotional “I” of the opening character:
“I remember he always used to wear a big black coat…” (p.167).
To the distanced, sympathetic voice of a narrator:
“David, do you remember this girl?
This is a creative, narrative voice, liberated in a way that the voices in novellas one and two were not:
“Leaving home. Yoruba boy. With your dreams of being an engineer locked up in your heart.” (p.173)
The sea, which is a constant image throughout Foreigners (Barber is forced onto HMS Princess Royal, Turpin crosses to America on the Queen Mary), becomes an image of dramatic terror. At the most extreme, there are the voices from crime reports, journals and historical accounts. A welter of voices—even the voices in street graffiti—becomes a tide of questions. The de-centering of the final narrative is a piece of triumphant post-modernism, though that triumph is continually questioned as Phillips pursues questions about identity and the kind of identities that fiction might create.
What makes Foreigners a great work of fiction is the thoroughness of its research and how fact is liberated into fiction. Or more accurately, how Phillips studies how fact can be liberated into fiction such that new, living perspectives arise from old prejudices.
In 1967, one of the great experimentalists of the last century, William Golding, published a novel as three linked novellas. This wasThe Pyramid. In essence, Foreigners is a set of linked narratives. They spark off one another, rubbing like flints, opening flickering questions. In each, the narrative voice is key. Foreigners is a fine fictional experiment. The first novel is a finely crafted masterpiece. Written in the style of the C18 novel, the life of Francis Barber is told with clarity. Stylistically, the pitch is exact, presenting the arrogant and unified voice of its narrator through an English that never falls into pastiche.
“…there were soon few within the doctor’s circle, who found either sympathy or concern for the negro’s welfare. Within a few years of his arrival in Lichfield, the careless Barber, had also, much to the dismay of his few remaining supporters, managed to fully deplete the capital which had been set aside to provide him with an annuity.” (p.21).
Such measured prose could be belong to either Equiano or Fielding, yet what betrays its narrator continually as White is his emphasis on capital and the racist assumptions of the C18: Barber lacked the rational guidance of the White race. This section of Foreigners builds towards a sentimental gesture worthy of Sterne.
The first novella, in Foreigners, closing at it does with the severe illness of Frances Barber, brings the point of writing to around 1800. Historically, the reader is at a liminal point, as one century becomes another. The second novella recreates a similar borderline. It closes with a mention of a statue erected to the boxer Randolph Turpin, in 2001, and a 2006 interview with his daughters, Annette and Charmaine. The style in this second section is typical of C20 journalistic prose, rather detached, without character, but is transformed in the final pages as Turpin is seen through the eyes of his family and the daughters are allowed to speculate on the statue erected in his honour. One tantalising aspects of Golding’s novelist technique was the reversal of perspective at the last minute. And this thought would appear to be in Phillip’s mind in the first two novellas: narrator one is presented with a meeting that could have transformed his understanding, yet he falls back into the prejudiced beliefs of his time: it would have been better for Barber to become Quashey once more and have returned to Jamaica because England was unsuitable for the Black temperament; narrator two begins to see that his narrative of Turpin is a cliché and emotionally deeper than he has described. Written from the outside, the two novellas are the opposite of the form that Phillips has avoided: the emotional first-person slave narrative. They look upon two enslaved (though supposedly liberated) lives to investigate the consciousness of the narrator and the kind of fictions that different centuries favour.
In the final novella, there is a deliberate lack of unity. Unity of voice is what the narrators in the first two novellas achieve. A comparison between Kesper Aspden’s Nationality:Wog and “Northern Lights”, which deal with the same material, helps to illustrate the interests in the closing of Foreigners. Aspden’s factual work is written as a piece of crime investigating, a surveying of evidence, from which a portrait of David Oluwale emerges. The book is intelligently and sympathetically written. But more interests Phillips than the case of David Oluwale: his interest is in history and the dislocation that occurs when personal history collides with it. Just as the first two novellas were held together by a unity of voice, so the third novella becomes a collection of fragmented voices, all of which struggle to cohere as they mime the problem of identity and coherence within the diaspora. Reading the third novella is like reading vocal points in time—from scattered islands. The voices range from the emotional “I” of the opening character:
“I remember he always used to wear a big black coat…” (p.167).
To the distanced, sympathetic voice of a narrator:
“David, do you remember this girl?
This is a creative, narrative voice, liberated in a way that the voices in novellas one and two were not:
“Leaving home. Yoruba boy. With your dreams of being an engineer locked up in your heart.” (p.173)
The sea, which is a constant image throughout Foreigners (Barber is forced onto HMS Princess Royal, Turpin crosses to America on the Queen Mary), becomes an image of dramatic terror. At the most extreme, there are the voices from crime reports, journals and historical accounts. A welter of voices—even the voices in street graffiti—becomes a tide of questions. The de-centering of the final narrative is a piece of triumphant post-modernism, though that triumph is continually questioned as Phillips pursues questions about identity and the kind of identities that fiction might create.
What makes Foreigners a great work of fiction is the thoroughness of its research and how fact is liberated into fiction. Or more accurately, how Phillips studies how fact can be liberated into fiction such that new, living perspectives arise from old prejudices.
April 25, 2015
Three historical figures, black or mixed-race, living at very different times in England, are the subject of Caryl Phillips's latest book. Two of them had come at a young age from the West Indies and West Africa respectively, the third was a son of an immigrant father and a white English mother. They have in common their belief that England is their home and their yearning to fit into the society of their time. All three marry into English families and raise families of their own. However, as a result of changing circumstances, they each end up in misery and hopelessness. In a merging of fictional reportage, memoir and description of historical facts, the author retraces their lives and the gradually more hostile environments leading to their unhappy end.
Francis Barber came to England as a young slave, gained his freedom and became the long time servant and companion of Samuel Johnson, the famous 18th century literary figure. Randolf Turpin turned into a national boxing hero around 1950, culminating in his briefly gaining the middleweight world championship. Finally, David Oluwale arrived in England in 1949 from his native Nigeria as a young stowaway and settled in the industrial region of Leeds. He became known as the first victim of racially motivated police brutality leading to his death in 1969.
Each story is self-contained - unconnected to the others. The links are the underlying themes of a black British subject's struggle to belong to "his" country. As an outsider in the "home" country, they must come to terms with a society that they inadequately understand and that is less than helpful in easing their adaptation and integration.
In attempting to place the stories in their true context, Phillips applies a different narration style to each tale. Barber's story is told in the voice of an 18th century gentleman journalist and his stilted language makes this story deliberately awkward and irritating reading. The narrator professes his liberal views, claiming to correct the general poor regard people have for Barber following his master's death. His stated empathy with his subject does not hide the deeply felt prejudices against blacks of the time. Turpin's anonymous biographer shows more sympathy for the man and the challenges he faced and goes into great detail describing them. Brought up in very modest circumstances by his widowed mother, "Randy" followed his brothers into a boxing career. His surprise rise to fame and title, brought sudden wealth to a young man, completely unprepared for a life of luxury and the management of his affairs. His numerous sudden "friends" exploited his generosity and kindness. His aggressive side, which led him into boxing in the first place, was particularly evident in his treatment of his women. The fame and fortunes, however, were short-lived and the poverty and misery that followed eventually broke him, despite the loving support of his young family.
In the third story, the author takes a very different narrative approach. The case of David Oluwale is a mosaic of a multitude of voices - time witnesses, each giving their own personal view and perspective on the man and his life in Leeds. They include a young girl, a social worker, another Nigerian immigrant, a doctor and, of course, the police. Nobody knows him well enough, yet the views vary from "quiet, educated, well-dressed and polite" to "unkempt, violent, sub-normal and savage". It is up to the reader to draw their own picture. Interleaved with the David's personal story, Phillips, who was born in Leeds, goes into disproportionate length and detail about the city's history through the ages and its role in the industrial revolution in Britain. While it adds some context to the narrative, it does divert the reader's attention away from the primary topic of the story. David's death led to a trial against two police officers known to have pursued and haunted him consistently. The tragedy of a life, started with great hope and idealism, ends after numerous periods in police custody, years in a mental institution and finally living on the street.
Phillips presents his readers with detailed portraits of the three men and their circumstances. While their stories are colourful, in describing them from the perspective of contemporary, yet outside observers, he sidesteps any discussion of the inner turmoil his subjects must have experienced. At a general level, his narrative expose problems of racial integration that have relevance today, yet he avoids specifics, except for the last case. In many ways, David's story is the most moving of the three, yet also devastating in its implications for the society at the time and since. Overall, the author remains in a grey zone between fact and fiction. The details of Turpin's story appear to be a factual account of his life without many creative elements beyond it. It is also unclear, for example, whether the statements by witnesses at the trial after David's death refer to actual quotes or imagined comments to fit the author's interpretation of David's profile. Phillips doesn't provide any sources or references to further reading on the three individuals. In the case of David, that could be seen as a serious omission as the research by Kester Aspden was well underway. Nationality Wog: The Hounding of David Oluwale.
Francis Barber came to England as a young slave, gained his freedom and became the long time servant and companion of Samuel Johnson, the famous 18th century literary figure. Randolf Turpin turned into a national boxing hero around 1950, culminating in his briefly gaining the middleweight world championship. Finally, David Oluwale arrived in England in 1949 from his native Nigeria as a young stowaway and settled in the industrial region of Leeds. He became known as the first victim of racially motivated police brutality leading to his death in 1969.
Each story is self-contained - unconnected to the others. The links are the underlying themes of a black British subject's struggle to belong to "his" country. As an outsider in the "home" country, they must come to terms with a society that they inadequately understand and that is less than helpful in easing their adaptation and integration.
In attempting to place the stories in their true context, Phillips applies a different narration style to each tale. Barber's story is told in the voice of an 18th century gentleman journalist and his stilted language makes this story deliberately awkward and irritating reading. The narrator professes his liberal views, claiming to correct the general poor regard people have for Barber following his master's death. His stated empathy with his subject does not hide the deeply felt prejudices against blacks of the time. Turpin's anonymous biographer shows more sympathy for the man and the challenges he faced and goes into great detail describing them. Brought up in very modest circumstances by his widowed mother, "Randy" followed his brothers into a boxing career. His surprise rise to fame and title, brought sudden wealth to a young man, completely unprepared for a life of luxury and the management of his affairs. His numerous sudden "friends" exploited his generosity and kindness. His aggressive side, which led him into boxing in the first place, was particularly evident in his treatment of his women. The fame and fortunes, however, were short-lived and the poverty and misery that followed eventually broke him, despite the loving support of his young family.
In the third story, the author takes a very different narrative approach. The case of David Oluwale is a mosaic of a multitude of voices - time witnesses, each giving their own personal view and perspective on the man and his life in Leeds. They include a young girl, a social worker, another Nigerian immigrant, a doctor and, of course, the police. Nobody knows him well enough, yet the views vary from "quiet, educated, well-dressed and polite" to "unkempt, violent, sub-normal and savage". It is up to the reader to draw their own picture. Interleaved with the David's personal story, Phillips, who was born in Leeds, goes into disproportionate length and detail about the city's history through the ages and its role in the industrial revolution in Britain. While it adds some context to the narrative, it does divert the reader's attention away from the primary topic of the story. David's death led to a trial against two police officers known to have pursued and haunted him consistently. The tragedy of a life, started with great hope and idealism, ends after numerous periods in police custody, years in a mental institution and finally living on the street.
Phillips presents his readers with detailed portraits of the three men and their circumstances. While their stories are colourful, in describing them from the perspective of contemporary, yet outside observers, he sidesteps any discussion of the inner turmoil his subjects must have experienced. At a general level, his narrative expose problems of racial integration that have relevance today, yet he avoids specifics, except for the last case. In many ways, David's story is the most moving of the three, yet also devastating in its implications for the society at the time and since. Overall, the author remains in a grey zone between fact and fiction. The details of Turpin's story appear to be a factual account of his life without many creative elements beyond it. It is also unclear, for example, whether the statements by witnesses at the trial after David's death refer to actual quotes or imagined comments to fit the author's interpretation of David's profile. Phillips doesn't provide any sources or references to further reading on the three individuals. In the case of David, that could be seen as a serious omission as the research by Kester Aspden was well underway. Nationality Wog: The Hounding of David Oluwale.
April 18, 2023
Dit is een collectie van drie korte verhalen. Elk verhaal gaat over een Engelsman die wordt gezien als buitenstaander door zijn huidskleur, en die echt heeft bestaan! De stijlen zijn heel verschillend en ik vond de mix van biografie en fictie fascinerend. Ik moest het ook lezen voor een keuzevak over 'Life Writing'.
Het eerste deel gaat over een vrijgekomen tot slaaf gemaakte, Francis Barber, die toch zijn hele leven in dienst blijft van zijn "meester". Het perspectief van het verhaal is een witte buitenstaander (en tijdgenoot) die alles uitzoekt over Barber. Door dit perspectief snapte ik niet meteen waar het verhaal nou precies over ging en daarom vond ik het vaag en lastig om erin te komen, maar uiteindelijk toen ik er een beetje in kwam werd het wel interessant.
Het tweede verhaal gaat over de bokser Randolph Turpin en greep me meteen - het begint namelijk meteen bij zijn meest bekende en spannende wedstrijd en gaat daarna pas terug naar de rest van zijn leven en wat er juist daarna gebeurde, zonder beoordeling ervan. Het perspectief was meer een alwetende verteller, waardoor je gewoon alles over Turpin te weten kwam en dat vond ik fantastisch. Dit verhaal had juist een fijne stijl en bleef me boeien.
Helaas eindigde het in een anticlimax, want ik vond het laatste deel echt onmogelijk vaag en moeilijk om door te komen. Hoewel het gaat over een slachtoffer van politiegeweld, David Oluwale, wisselde het de hele tijd van perspectief zonder dat je ooit wist wie er precies sprak. Dit gaf het een hele opgebroken stijl, hoe hartverscheurend en mooi Oluwale ook beschreven werd.
Het eerste deel gaat over een vrijgekomen tot slaaf gemaakte, Francis Barber, die toch zijn hele leven in dienst blijft van zijn "meester". Het perspectief van het verhaal is een witte buitenstaander (en tijdgenoot) die alles uitzoekt over Barber. Door dit perspectief snapte ik niet meteen waar het verhaal nou precies over ging en daarom vond ik het vaag en lastig om erin te komen, maar uiteindelijk toen ik er een beetje in kwam werd het wel interessant.
Het tweede verhaal gaat over de bokser Randolph Turpin en greep me meteen - het begint namelijk meteen bij zijn meest bekende en spannende wedstrijd en gaat daarna pas terug naar de rest van zijn leven en wat er juist daarna gebeurde, zonder beoordeling ervan. Het perspectief was meer een alwetende verteller, waardoor je gewoon alles over Turpin te weten kwam en dat vond ik fantastisch. Dit verhaal had juist een fijne stijl en bleef me boeien.
Helaas eindigde het in een anticlimax, want ik vond het laatste deel echt onmogelijk vaag en moeilijk om door te komen. Hoewel het gaat over een slachtoffer van politiegeweld, David Oluwale, wisselde het de hele tijd van perspectief zonder dat je ooit wist wie er precies sprak. Dit gaf het een hele opgebroken stijl, hoe hartverscheurend en mooi Oluwale ook beschreven werd.
March 11, 2026
A good history book in my opinion has to be bothered informative AND accessible. This is a hard balance to strike, amd this book attempts to do so by writing 3 novellas each concerning a different Black British man throughout history.
The first story, Doctor Johnsons Watch concerns Francis Barber and enslaved Jamaican man "given" to famous Biritish writer Samuel Johnson. I could immediately tell what type of 16th century story that Phillips was trying to evoke here. The formal prose, the flashback storytelling and the unknown male bachelor narrator are good choices. This particular story seems to be an attempt to show the insidious paternalistic benevolence that was the popular attitude to Black people at the time period in question and the inherent hypocrisy in it. The narrator obviously approves of Johnsons good treatment of Barber and wants to have "Christian" values dominate his life but still cannot help but treat Barber and his family with contempt. He refers to Barber as "his (Johnsons) negro" as well as a number of other slurs and his mixed race child as "The mongrel". Even Barbers wife, a white English woman he calls an "uncultured creature." The choice to have the narrator of this story be a man living in the times is good as it shows how despite all of this bad treatment, our narrator still believes himself to be in the right, even while coming to the conclusion that:
"Yes, the black should have left our country and journeyed back to Jamaica or to Africa with Mr Sharp's expedition. In fact all ebony personalised should do so for now I was convinced thay English air is clearly not suitable for negro lungs and soon reduces these creatures to a state of childish helplessness"
This is a great way to show how difficult Barbers life would have been if this is the popular attitude at the time from people who were on the less racist end of the spectrum.
The second story Made in Wales has a completely different tone. The prose, perspective and flow are read more like a Wikipedia article, with added artistic flourishing. This was by far the most informative out of the 3 stories. It documents the rise and fall of Randolph Turpin a famous British Black boxer. This story focuses on how boxing has always been a way for immigrants to become British, but how that only extends when you are winning. Turpin is not the only man that this theme maps on to, his father served in the British Army in WWI and yet died of his injuries leaving his 4 mixed race children with no support. This conditional identity is very reminiscent of the Einstein quote:
"If my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare me a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German, and Germany will declare that I am a Jew."
While this story is not my favourite naratively, I did appreciate the nuance and delicacy with which Phillips handled the contents of it. Turpins difficult upbringing and manipulative compatriots are not used to excuse some of his more unsavoury actions and his better actions are also not dismissed. I really like the bit at the end with Turpins daughters regarding his legacy.
The last story Northern Lights was by far my favourite. It's the story of both the life and death of David Oluwale from a roladex of perspectives. This story has by far the best prose and themes of the three:
"You lay, instead, hidden in the bowels of the ship listening to the roar of the malevolent water as the Atlantic Ocean asserted its authority over the clumsy vessel, tossing its rusty bulk high and then abandoning it so that it crashed back to the watery earth with a loud slap"
Not only is this well written, but it is part of the larger theme of bodies of water, from the sea that David crossed to get to Britain, all the way to the river he ended up in. Other themes include history, specifically that of the British Empire that brought David to Britain, Classism which is an everpresent problem in Leeds, and abuse of power both in the justice and medical system. Its a heartbreaking, thought provoking story that paints its subject not as a mentally challenged vagrant, but a dignified man who wanted what was his by right, a place in Britain. The UK claimed power over so many as British citizens in its colonies but then refused them that same recognition on its own soil. This is a contradiction that David embodied and in the end he was killed for it
"The mother country was welcoming her citizens at the front door and then quickly ushering them put the back door crying 'No Blacks' crying 'No Coloureds' crying 'Go back to where you came from'"
Unfortunately, despite its quality there is one thing holding this back from being 5 stars; the lack of a bibliography. This book inspires so much more further reading and offers nothing to go off of. In addition the lack of sources gives this book a distinct lack of credibility. I want to be clear, in NO WAY do I think Phillips is lying or making information up, but sourcing none of your claims means that others might be able to do so. I know this book leans more towards fiction than an educational text but it still needs sources, even one page would have been better than nothing. Despite that this is still an informative and well written collection with 3 distinct well told stories all of which are good examples of how to make history approachable.
The first story, Doctor Johnsons Watch concerns Francis Barber and enslaved Jamaican man "given" to famous Biritish writer Samuel Johnson. I could immediately tell what type of 16th century story that Phillips was trying to evoke here. The formal prose, the flashback storytelling and the unknown male bachelor narrator are good choices. This particular story seems to be an attempt to show the insidious paternalistic benevolence that was the popular attitude to Black people at the time period in question and the inherent hypocrisy in it. The narrator obviously approves of Johnsons good treatment of Barber and wants to have "Christian" values dominate his life but still cannot help but treat Barber and his family with contempt. He refers to Barber as "his (Johnsons) negro" as well as a number of other slurs and his mixed race child as "The mongrel". Even Barbers wife, a white English woman he calls an "uncultured creature." The choice to have the narrator of this story be a man living in the times is good as it shows how despite all of this bad treatment, our narrator still believes himself to be in the right, even while coming to the conclusion that:
"Yes, the black should have left our country and journeyed back to Jamaica or to Africa with Mr Sharp's expedition. In fact all ebony personalised should do so for now I was convinced thay English air is clearly not suitable for negro lungs and soon reduces these creatures to a state of childish helplessness"
This is a great way to show how difficult Barbers life would have been if this is the popular attitude at the time from people who were on the less racist end of the spectrum.
The second story Made in Wales has a completely different tone. The prose, perspective and flow are read more like a Wikipedia article, with added artistic flourishing. This was by far the most informative out of the 3 stories. It documents the rise and fall of Randolph Turpin a famous British Black boxer. This story focuses on how boxing has always been a way for immigrants to become British, but how that only extends when you are winning. Turpin is not the only man that this theme maps on to, his father served in the British Army in WWI and yet died of his injuries leaving his 4 mixed race children with no support. This conditional identity is very reminiscent of the Einstein quote:
"If my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare me a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German, and Germany will declare that I am a Jew."
While this story is not my favourite naratively, I did appreciate the nuance and delicacy with which Phillips handled the contents of it. Turpins difficult upbringing and manipulative compatriots are not used to excuse some of his more unsavoury actions and his better actions are also not dismissed. I really like the bit at the end with Turpins daughters regarding his legacy.
The last story Northern Lights was by far my favourite. It's the story of both the life and death of David Oluwale from a roladex of perspectives. This story has by far the best prose and themes of the three:
"You lay, instead, hidden in the bowels of the ship listening to the roar of the malevolent water as the Atlantic Ocean asserted its authority over the clumsy vessel, tossing its rusty bulk high and then abandoning it so that it crashed back to the watery earth with a loud slap"
Not only is this well written, but it is part of the larger theme of bodies of water, from the sea that David crossed to get to Britain, all the way to the river he ended up in. Other themes include history, specifically that of the British Empire that brought David to Britain, Classism which is an everpresent problem in Leeds, and abuse of power both in the justice and medical system. Its a heartbreaking, thought provoking story that paints its subject not as a mentally challenged vagrant, but a dignified man who wanted what was his by right, a place in Britain. The UK claimed power over so many as British citizens in its colonies but then refused them that same recognition on its own soil. This is a contradiction that David embodied and in the end he was killed for it
"The mother country was welcoming her citizens at the front door and then quickly ushering them put the back door crying 'No Blacks' crying 'No Coloureds' crying 'Go back to where you came from'"
Unfortunately, despite its quality there is one thing holding this back from being 5 stars; the lack of a bibliography. This book inspires so much more further reading and offers nothing to go off of. In addition the lack of sources gives this book a distinct lack of credibility. I want to be clear, in NO WAY do I think Phillips is lying or making information up, but sourcing none of your claims means that others might be able to do so. I know this book leans more towards fiction than an educational text but it still needs sources, even one page would have been better than nothing. Despite that this is still an informative and well written collection with 3 distinct well told stories all of which are good examples of how to make history approachable.
April 17, 2023
Pretty good and really bad at the same time? The last novella was so good in its core but the writing gave me whiplash
August 6, 2020
Caryl Phillips gives us the true stories of three men who made their homes in England, but never found their place in society.
Francis Barber was a servant and companion to Dr Johnson for over thirty years and a former slave from Jamaica. Johnson left him a legacy and suggested Barber move to Johnson's city town of Lichfield, which he did, but did not thrive there. The account is true to what is known of Francis Barber's life, but the narration is by Phillips as if contemporary.
Randolph Turpin was the most successful of three boxing brothers, the sons of a black WWI veteran and a white woman. He made a lot of money at the height of his career, but was not good at managing it. He is the least sympathetic of the three featured characters, and Phillips uses a straight biographical report to tell his story, but his end was tragic for his family.
David Oluwale came to England from Nigeria as a stowaway, ending up in Leeds. He was imprisoned and later spent several years in an asylum, and ended up homeless. If he was not mentally ill when he entered the institution, he was by the lime he left. He died following a sustained regime of brutality at the hands of two police officers. The story is told through witness statements, although some may not be entirely non-fiction.
Francis and Randolph both had more than enough money to live on for part of their lives, but neither managed it well; their problems were compounded by their own actions and their class as much as their skin colour. David is more obviously a victim, although he had a stubborn resistance to accepting help when it was offered.
Francis Barber was a servant and companion to Dr Johnson for over thirty years and a former slave from Jamaica. Johnson left him a legacy and suggested Barber move to Johnson's city town of Lichfield, which he did, but did not thrive there. The account is true to what is known of Francis Barber's life, but the narration is by Phillips as if contemporary.
Randolph Turpin was the most successful of three boxing brothers, the sons of a black WWI veteran and a white woman. He made a lot of money at the height of his career, but was not good at managing it. He is the least sympathetic of the three featured characters, and Phillips uses a straight biographical report to tell his story, but his end was tragic for his family.
David Oluwale came to England from Nigeria as a stowaway, ending up in Leeds. He was imprisoned and later spent several years in an asylum, and ended up homeless. If he was not mentally ill when he entered the institution, he was by the lime he left. He died following a sustained regime of brutality at the hands of two police officers. The story is told through witness statements, although some may not be entirely non-fiction.
Francis and Randolph both had more than enough money to live on for part of their lives, but neither managed it well; their problems were compounded by their own actions and their class as much as their skin colour. David is more obviously a victim, although he had a stubborn resistance to accepting help when it was offered.
July 21, 2025
I read this book as a part of learning about different countries. I have a series I call Travel from Home (@wherewegowins on tiktok).
July’s country is Saint Kitts & Nevis, and Caryl Phillips was born there before being moved to England with his parents. (For each country I read one book by an author from said country.)
This book was very strangely written, with what felt like 3 completely different styles of stories. The audiobook really added that element in there as you had different people voicing the different 3 parts. And multiple voice actors for the third part (which was my favorite of the 3).
I’m still mulling over the content, but I think Phillips accomplishes what he set out to do in this book. I’m left thinking about the infuriating circumstances of “foreigners” in prejudiced lands. About people’s perspectives that skew justice.
Interested to read others’ reviews and see what they took away from these stories as well.
July’s country is Saint Kitts & Nevis, and Caryl Phillips was born there before being moved to England with his parents. (For each country I read one book by an author from said country.)
This book was very strangely written, with what felt like 3 completely different styles of stories. The audiobook really added that element in there as you had different people voicing the different 3 parts. And multiple voice actors for the third part (which was my favorite of the 3).
I’m still mulling over the content, but I think Phillips accomplishes what he set out to do in this book. I’m left thinking about the infuriating circumstances of “foreigners” in prejudiced lands. About people’s perspectives that skew justice.
Interested to read others’ reviews and see what they took away from these stories as well.
July 3, 2020
Interesting but patchy... The first story, about Samuel Johnson and Francis Barber, was well-written, but a story I already knew. The last story, about the murder of David Oluwale by the Leeds Metropolitan Police, was something I knew just a little about, but the scattershot nature of the prose was tedious to me. The best of the three stories was the middle one about Randy Turpin... His story resonated with me, perhaps because it involved sport but more likely because it was set in Leamington Spa and Warwick, which I know well as my husband is from Warwick. There were some editorial oversights — Leamington is NOT in the East Midlands ;-) — but the story about being a Black celebrity in a town with a handful of Blacks, and how the backlash of your fall from grace is even nastier when you can not erase your Blackness from your former white fans, had a great impact.
November 21, 2018
For what it is, Foreigners: Three English Lives is a good book. It tells the story of the lives of three black Englishmen and their alienation, suffering, and eventual demises. Phillips' research is quite impressive and you will definitely learn a lot about black English history and the tribulations of not fitting in. While I am not particularly taken by Phillips' writing, Foreigners is certainly an important and enlightening read.
August 13, 2024
A complex story that shares the lives of three black men. It’s said to be a book of fiction but sadly these stories run too close to the truth. Listening to this audio book was somewhat of a challenge for me, due to varied voices of narration that made the story both fascinating and intriguing. Excellent story writing and telling.
May 15, 2018
The book as a whole is greater than the sum of its three parts. Its silences, questions, and contradictions are as constructive as its biographical details and informative operations.
July 17, 2020
3,5 stars
Fascinating style, mixing fact and fiction in three tales of race and identity.
Fascinating style, mixing fact and fiction in three tales of race and identity.
December 29, 2009
A novel that focuses on three infamous men of color in three eras and their struggles in Great Britain.
Francis Barber – a child slave from the Caribbean brought to England who eventually becomes the servant of writer Samuel Johnson. Upon Johnson’s death, Barber’s freedom (both legal, social, and financial) leads to his own demise.
Randolph Turpin – born to Black/Caribbean father and White/English mother, underdog prize fighter who surprisingly beat world renowned Sugar Ray Robinson and was Britain’s first black world-champion boxer; he reined for six months in 1951; the women and money came quickly; however fame and fortune squandered on personal loans, bad investments, and foolishness, he resorts to working in a junk yard for a menial salary. Depressed and full of regrets, he ultimately commits suicide in 1966 and tries unsuccessfully to take one of his daughters with him.
David Oluwale – a teen-aged Nigerian stowaway who seemed to never catch a break over 20 years. Because he was black and defiant -- was in/out of prison, mental institution (where he received electro-shock treatment) brutally beaten to death by the police in 1969 Leeds. Two racists cops eventually spent a couple years in prison.
Things I learned:
• England was mostly all-Caucasian until the 50’s and 60’s when MASSIVE migrations from the Caribbean and West African occurred and cultural clashes occurred at most of the port cities; racial prejudice and discrimination ran rampant.
• There are only two statues of black men in all of England – one of Nelson Mandela and one of bi-racial Randy Turpin (the boxer).
The writing was solid; it was a mixture of non-fiction and fiction with imagined scenarios to convey the stories. He stuck to the facts and added commentary where necessary.
My rating: 4 for the rich historical content and great research
Francis Barber – a child slave from the Caribbean brought to England who eventually becomes the servant of writer Samuel Johnson. Upon Johnson’s death, Barber’s freedom (both legal, social, and financial) leads to his own demise.
Randolph Turpin – born to Black/Caribbean father and White/English mother, underdog prize fighter who surprisingly beat world renowned Sugar Ray Robinson and was Britain’s first black world-champion boxer; he reined for six months in 1951; the women and money came quickly; however fame and fortune squandered on personal loans, bad investments, and foolishness, he resorts to working in a junk yard for a menial salary. Depressed and full of regrets, he ultimately commits suicide in 1966 and tries unsuccessfully to take one of his daughters with him.
David Oluwale – a teen-aged Nigerian stowaway who seemed to never catch a break over 20 years. Because he was black and defiant -- was in/out of prison, mental institution (where he received electro-shock treatment) brutally beaten to death by the police in 1969 Leeds. Two racists cops eventually spent a couple years in prison.
Things I learned:
• England was mostly all-Caucasian until the 50’s and 60’s when MASSIVE migrations from the Caribbean and West African occurred and cultural clashes occurred at most of the port cities; racial prejudice and discrimination ran rampant.
• There are only two statues of black men in all of England – one of Nelson Mandela and one of bi-racial Randy Turpin (the boxer).
The writing was solid; it was a mixture of non-fiction and fiction with imagined scenarios to convey the stories. He stuck to the facts and added commentary where necessary.
My rating: 4 for the rich historical content and great research
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2011
This is an amazing book, not due to it's "spiritual prose" but also a social "awareness" that shows the many facets of humanity. Whether if it was self-inflicted suffering such as the first story about a servant to Samuel Johnson who after the death of his friend and master, he self-destructs rapidly downward to despair. The second story is the all so often story of the Rise and Fall of a sports figure. In this case, it is about the boxing champion Randolph Turpin who came to fame by knocking out Sugar Ray Robinson. After much success as a boxer in the ring, outside the ring is a different story of excessive spending, vanity, and extreme excess which leads the once champion to work as a measly junkman. This Fall eventually leads to extreme despair and finally to suicide.
The last of the stories sums up the theme of this book - "tragic". It is about David Oluwale who came to England to chase "The Dream". What ended twenty years later is death by racial beatings by two racist cops. What these stories "conjure" up for the reader is that these three men, who although all end up in Tragedy, still carry within them the core humanity in each of us - which is that we are all born with "goodness" in our hearts but are tainted by society's greed. As these three men head to their demise, they had the courage to keep their heart's pure.
The last of the stories sums up the theme of this book - "tragic". It is about David Oluwale who came to England to chase "The Dream". What ended twenty years later is death by racial beatings by two racist cops. What these stories "conjure" up for the reader is that these three men, who although all end up in Tragedy, still carry within them the core humanity in each of us - which is that we are all born with "goodness" in our hearts but are tainted by society's greed. As these three men head to their demise, they had the courage to keep their heart's pure.
February 27, 2015
Three 'long' stories.
Although this book should fall within my chosen genres it totally failed to grab me.
It narrated a series of three fictionalised tales of coloured men who had lived in the UK, two during the last century and one in the eighteenth century.
I found it unnecessarily drawn out and wordy and I only finished it because it was an audiobook. Even this was not a great selling point, as the last story, about David Oluwale, a Nigerian stowaway who arrived in Leeds in 1949 and who triggered an awareness of the treatment of immigrants, seems hypocritical, as the main narrator was American, criticising the British police force when his country's history of treatment of couloureds included the Klu Klux Clan.
The opening story was about a servant who worked for the writer Samuel Johnson and was treated well, but who couldn't cope once Johnson died.
The second was the tale of Randolph Turpin, Britain’s first black world-champion boxer, who ended his life with debts and disillusionment.
There was far too much detail, which can be skipped when reading but which is laboriously narrated in an audiobook. An example is the list of 14 prison terms served by David Oluwale, dates, offenses and duration.
From reading other reviews, I sense that this is not Caryl Phillip's best work, so I may give another of his books a try in the future.
Although this book should fall within my chosen genres it totally failed to grab me.
It narrated a series of three fictionalised tales of coloured men who had lived in the UK, two during the last century and one in the eighteenth century.
I found it unnecessarily drawn out and wordy and I only finished it because it was an audiobook. Even this was not a great selling point, as the last story, about David Oluwale, a Nigerian stowaway who arrived in Leeds in 1949 and who triggered an awareness of the treatment of immigrants, seems hypocritical, as the main narrator was American, criticising the British police force when his country's history of treatment of couloureds included the Klu Klux Clan.
The opening story was about a servant who worked for the writer Samuel Johnson and was treated well, but who couldn't cope once Johnson died.
The second was the tale of Randolph Turpin, Britain’s first black world-champion boxer, who ended his life with debts and disillusionment.
There was far too much detail, which can be skipped when reading but which is laboriously narrated in an audiobook. An example is the list of 14 prison terms served by David Oluwale, dates, offenses and duration.
From reading other reviews, I sense that this is not Caryl Phillip's best work, so I may give another of his books a try in the future.
June 18, 2016
Probably closer to 3.5 stars, but my love for Phillips' work made me round up. From the title page on, this book makes evident how critical race is to the identity and, more importantly, the perception of three very different men in three distinct eras. Perhaps is should not be surprising that one's fate may be shaped so heavily, if not completed determined, by others' actions. Still, these are the stories of men who might have gotten in their own ways at times, but who were never equipped to succeed, and who therefore faced tragic endings set in motion long before.
November 20, 2008
Three fictionalized stories of three black men who really did live in England -- one in the 1700s and two in the 20th century. An intriguing premise, but the execution was uneven. The first story was dull, the second was better, but the third story was the real showstopper here. It was thoroughly -- and hideously -- tragic.
December 30, 2010
I learned a great deal about three black men from different eras and how they were treated in English society. The author blends journalistic, historical and fictional expertise to tell these stories in a compassionate way that goes straight to the heart. This is the second Phillips book I've read and I'm looking forward to reading more of his work.
February 16, 2015
This historical fiction, yet factual, novel was interesting and enlightened me on racial tensions and prejudice in 1900s Europe. Using three different characters, the novel was interesting and kept my attention from the perspectives of three different individuals.
March 25, 2008
Three separate historical fiction pieces about a black man's fall from grace. Caryl Phillips makes impressive style changes and creates human faces for the history of British race relations.
September 14, 2023
The only part that was interesting was the third one. Even better because it was the final one.
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