On Brick Lane

by Rachel Lichtenstein

Brick Lane today is a place of extremes – a street that's constantly reinventing itself. Blending history and reportage with personal testimony and urban myths, and interspersing these with maps and photography, On Brick Lane is a one-of-a-kind chronicle of one of London's most remarkable streets. Bringing to life the memories and realities of Brick Lane's many communities, Rachel Lichtenstein harnesses the voices of the famous, the infamous and the obscure, merging memoir, reportage, poetry, photography and local history. The result is as vibrant and fascinating as the neighbourhood it so movingly celebrates.

Genres: Nonfiction, London, History, British Literature, Memoir

368 pages, Hardcover

First published September 25, 2007

Reviews

[Sophy H · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm giving up on this one. I think you have to be really invested in the Brick Lane area (having lived there or worked there etc) to truly appreciate this book.

I got bored of the constant reverie about the "good old days"; there were too many rehashed and lengthy reprinted conversations. It reminded me of being stuck with the local drunk at a pub telling you all about "back in my day"!!

The photographs in the book are chucked in with no tagline underneath so you've no idea who the person is on the page or what the photo relates to unless you look at the list of photos at the front of the book!

Sadly Brick Lane sounds like nothing more than a ghetto these days.

So yeah, not my cup of tea, giving up as I have more important things to spend my days on.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book in lots of ways. Based on interviews with people who live or lived in Spitalfields as well as many hours spent walking the area alone and with other interested people, Rachel Lichtensein has woven a patchwork book of photos, quotations of many sorts, and stories of the people who have made Brick Lane the fascinating place it has always been. On the edge of the city it is a liminal place, full of newcomers and established residents. The name 'refugee' is derived from the refugiers, the Huguenot immigrants who brought silk weaving skills with them when they fled France. The author's main interest is in the area as a Jewish place. A previous book, Rodinsky's Room, focuses more closely on the synagogue in Princelet Street and the life of Rodinsky. This book ranges much more widely, is full of fascinating material, people, views and images, but it is a patchwork, jumping from one thing to another and perhaps leaving one with a bit of a sense of getting nowhere. Maybe that is the point!

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book. Rachel Lichtenstein paints a very vivid picture of life in the Brick Lane area as it was in bygone days ánd in modern times. I agree with another reviewer who commented about the (slightly) awkward layout of the book, but nevertheless I think On Brick Lane is brilliant. I finished it some days ago, but it is still on my mind, buzzing with both nostalgic and poignant images.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A scrapbook of memories of a now almost vanished world. Wonderful.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but not a favorite. I don't love the style, anecdotal interviews of the place. I'd prefer a more researched, factual account.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die Brick Lane in London hatte schon viele Gesichter. Im Lauf der Zeit haben sich nicht nur die Geschäfte geändert, sondern auch die Bevölkerung. Von Brauereien über Leder- und Metallverarbeitung bis zu Souveniergeschäften, die Straße hat schon vieles gesehen und wird sicherlich noch mehr sehen.

Bei dem Buch ist mir zuerst die Aufmachung aufgefallen. Der Text wurde durch Bilder und Seiten mit Erklärungen zu den Bildern oder Erinnerungen von Zeitzeugen unterbrochen. Das ist eher ungewöhnlich, hat mir aber besser gefallen als mich durch endlose Fußnoten zu lesen.

Ich war selbst auf der Brick Lane, nämlich auf dem Brick Lane Market. Der hat aber nur wenig mit dem zu tun, was die Autorin beschreibt. Rachel Lichtenstein erzählt nicht nur die Geschichte einer Straße, sondern eines ganzen Viertels. Sie beginnt mit ihrem jüdischen Großvater, der ein kleines Geschäft betrieben hat und endet mit einem Koch aus Bangladesch, der, so gut er auch ist, nirgends anders arbeiten kann als in seinem Restaurant, weil er kein Englisch spricht.

So wie sich die Straße wandelt, so ändern sich auch die Menschen. Rachel Lichtenstein erzählt, wie die Anwohner sich gegen die National Front durchgesetzt haben, oder wie die Anschläge vom 7. Juli 2005 das Leben im Viertel verändert haben. Aber eigentlich erzählt nicht die Autorin, sondern sie schreibt die Erinnerungen der Menschen auf. Das hat sie sehr lebendig und warmherzig gemacht.

[Niamh · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable/readable history of Brick Lane told through a series of portraits, but very little narrative drama compared to Rodinskys Room, her real masterpiece about Jewish Whitechapel. The chapters on the Jewish community were v interesting; the chapters on the Bengali community were a bit superficial for obvious reasons. The "real East End is dead and gone" trope gets a bit tiresome after a while ; ironically, given the book itself is all about lost histories, it is itself a bit of a period piece now, documenting the area's early noughties hipster/artist heyday.

[~m · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read! If you love books about places and how they tell stories this is for you! And Brick Lane has many stories to tell!

[Helen Hanschell Pollock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel Lichtenstein writes smoothly and easily and vey enjoyably about the historical life of this East London street. A book for a lover of London and its multicultural underbelly.

[Manuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a great writer, but a wonderful subject. The book is uneven, but rewarding all the same.

[Belle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aggh the frustrating layout of this book almost broke me. I'm usually a very quick reader but this took me an unusually long time to get through at 10 days. I even had to take a two day break and read something else, (of similar length) in its entirely, before I could pick this back up again. Why did I persevere? I loved the content. The author tells the story of Brick Lane from about 1860 to 2006 and she did a grand job. She really did her research and included contributions from an extremely diverse group of current and former residents.

As much as the content was wonderful, the layout was the worst I've ever had to navigate. Why are the illustrations not explained on the actual page?? There are numerous photos scattered throughout the book but each time I came across one, I had to go to the front of the book and look each page up (not all pages were numbered) to find the relevant description. Add that to the fact that every couple of pages I was going to the back of the book to look up a foreign word in the glossary and it quickly became hard work. It took what felt like forever to navigate through this book with a bookmark at the front and another at the back to help find the lists more quickly. Then, just to test me further, scattered throughout the book were numerous pages with wonderfully interesting quotes from locals but these were put in almost at whim in the middle of sentences, spread over three pages! Reading a book should not be this difficult.

On a positive note the content was fascinating which is why I stuck with it. The author has really improved upon her knowledge of the area since Rodinsky's Room and her contacts are impressive. She opened my eyes to so many other books that have been written by her friends and associates. I saw that this is the first of a trilogy. I would be particularly interested in reading her next book about Hatton Garden but only if the layout was improved upon, otherwise I would have to give it a miss.

There is a short (approx 1 hour) walking tour with a basic map at the end of the book. The book was published in 2007; unfortunately quite a few of the places mentioned have since completely disappeared. For example the last Jewish Business in the area, the building where the Russian Baths were, the buildings on the corner of Greatorex Street and one of the author's restaurant recommendations have all gone. The layout of the walk also sent me up and back down Brick Lane several times. If you do the walk I would suggest that you start at the end, so start at the top of Brick Lane by the Beigel Bake and finish at the park by Aldate East tube. This would mean much less traipsing back and forth.

[Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brick Lane is an iconic street in the London borough of Tower Hamlets, the poorest borough in England. It's at the heart of London's East End and for centuries has been a hub for successive generations of immigrants.

This is a well-researched yet personal study of a street adapting and changing through the years. Brick Lane is known for absorbing new arrivals to the capital, from Huguenots to Jews and Bangladeshis - it's now the heart of "Banglatown".

I work nearby, and some of my own ancestors were French Huguenots, so I found this thoroughly engrossing and, come the spring, I will definitely follow the walking tour given at the end of the book.

[Fatma Sajwani · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book revealed lots of history around Brick lane and the surrounding area. It allowed me to explore London's cultural diversity across time. Its a great book to read if you have been to Brick Lane and know what does it look like today, otherwise it would not be of interest. I have learned much from it, but its quite detailed which could make some chapters boring

[Una Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

As ever Rachel does an excellent job of letting the reader enter the hidden lives of others - so remarkable!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely mix of history, photographs, anecdotes, quotes and stories about Brick Lane.

[Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it.