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custard's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
maggymags's review
5.0
Audio book. Beautifully written with first hand accounts of the Carribean migration. Stories filled with joy, sadness, hope. Some experienced acceptance and others discrimination, children and families weŕe left behind, some to be reunited, others not. I loved every minute of this book.
laurajane's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
seraphljfh's review
4.0
An incredible book which gives such an insight into Windrush. Like many all I knew before reading this was from newspaper articles which gave only a narrow often bias view. This book had so many interesting stories ranging from the normal every day, I particularly liked Don Letts talking about the rarely used front room to the heartbreaking stories of the every day racism they fought against. Horace Halliburton telling of being turned away for jobs he was over qualified for because ' the factories will not employ coloured men ' was so disheartening to read especially in these times it is hard to read these as history because they still seem so relevant and it feels we should have moved on from many of the attitudes discussed and we haven't. A fantastic book for anyone interested in this countries racial and immigration history.
sadiereadsagain's review against another edition
4.0
This book is both a time capsule and a statement very relevant to our world today. In this book, Grant has created an incredible patchwork of voices from the Windrush generation (and their children) which paints an insightful picture of their rich experiences. And in that, he turns the lens back on Britain and the wider West to our enduring attitudes towards colonialism and immigration.
Growing up near to London, I was used to seeing West Indian people as part of the community and as a child I don't think I ever wondered how they, or the Sikh and Hindu children also in my class had come to be in Britain. It's only in recent years that I've become aware that many of these families didn't just move here randomly, or on the off-chance that things might be better here. The immigration of different cultures, particularly that following the second world war, was based on the influence of colonialism, of the propaganda of Britain as the place to be that was fed to other countries of the Empire, of the promises fed to populations which the Empire exploited. Promises which many found were hollow only once they'd given up all they had, left their homes and loved ones, and made the difficult passage to our supposedly superior shores. As detailed in the first-hand oral histories in this book, the experience was often one of prejudice, isolation and employment inequalities that often made it impossible for people to afford the life promised to them or to return to their homes once reality bit. West Indian people were treated appallingly by a population that was unprepared to accept racial and cultural differences, and a government which backtracked on it's word.
That would lead you to expect a very gloomy book. But this is anything but. What shines through is the spirit of the Windrush generation - perseverance, optimism and joy. Despite the unfair odds stacked against them, this brave generation found a way to exist. Whether that was their ingenious way of getting around the barrier to property ownership, the strength they showed in boycotting prejudice employers, bringing what they could of home into the culture, or simply making the best of a bad situation, many of the people featured in this book were able to settle and reclaim some of those promises to make a good life here. I adored the way this book was told, and could have read many, many more accounts of what it was like to be part of the Windrush generation.
Grant doesn't get into a lot of depth of the political scandal which really brought this generation to the fore in the past decade, with the Hostile Environment policy and stamping many with illegal immigrant status. It is discussed, and there are voices of those who were effectively expelled from the county under this disgraceful approach. But the focus is very much on their lives - those they left behind (and I gained so much in reading about the West Indies under colonial rule from this book), those they found themselves in, and those they managed to build despite the odds. And from this, we Westerners can really learn a lot about the courage and stamina that immigrants have and the richness that opening our borders, minds and hearts to others can bring. At the same time, it really does throw into sharp focus the disgusting way that still, today, people are treated, and should serve as a learning opportunity on how to treat everyone, anyone with humanity.
I was sent a Netgalley of this title by Random House UK in return for a review. All opinions are my own.
Growing up near to London, I was used to seeing West Indian people as part of the community and as a child I don't think I ever wondered how they, or the Sikh and Hindu children also in my class had come to be in Britain. It's only in recent years that I've become aware that many of these families didn't just move here randomly, or on the off-chance that things might be better here. The immigration of different cultures, particularly that following the second world war, was based on the influence of colonialism, of the propaganda of Britain as the place to be that was fed to other countries of the Empire, of the promises fed to populations which the Empire exploited. Promises which many found were hollow only once they'd given up all they had, left their homes and loved ones, and made the difficult passage to our supposedly superior shores. As detailed in the first-hand oral histories in this book, the experience was often one of prejudice, isolation and employment inequalities that often made it impossible for people to afford the life promised to them or to return to their homes once reality bit. West Indian people were treated appallingly by a population that was unprepared to accept racial and cultural differences, and a government which backtracked on it's word.
That would lead you to expect a very gloomy book. But this is anything but. What shines through is the spirit of the Windrush generation - perseverance, optimism and joy. Despite the unfair odds stacked against them, this brave generation found a way to exist. Whether that was their ingenious way of getting around the barrier to property ownership, the strength they showed in boycotting prejudice employers, bringing what they could of home into the culture, or simply making the best of a bad situation, many of the people featured in this book were able to settle and reclaim some of those promises to make a good life here. I adored the way this book was told, and could have read many, many more accounts of what it was like to be part of the Windrush generation.
Grant doesn't get into a lot of depth of the political scandal which really brought this generation to the fore in the past decade, with the Hostile Environment policy and stamping many with illegal immigrant status. It is discussed, and there are voices of those who were effectively expelled from the county under this disgraceful approach. But the focus is very much on their lives - those they left behind (and I gained so much in reading about the West Indies under colonial rule from this book), those they found themselves in, and those they managed to build despite the odds. And from this, we Westerners can really learn a lot about the courage and stamina that immigrants have and the richness that opening our borders, minds and hearts to others can bring. At the same time, it really does throw into sharp focus the disgusting way that still, today, people are treated, and should serve as a learning opportunity on how to treat everyone, anyone with humanity.
I was sent a Netgalley of this title by Random House UK in return for a review. All opinions are my own.