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bart_gunn's review against another edition
5.0
An eye-opening portrayal into the lives of the dispossessed, dream seekers and the lonely. Lost souls caught in a cycle of despair. Each a modern reincarnation of Dick Whittington without the 'happy' ending. I lived in London throughout the 90's and already it seems like another world. This book holds a mirror up to globalisation and the pain it causes by chasing economic dreams. Ben Judah's unbiased reportage is wonderful and in allowing his subjects to tell their own personal tales of woe, he creates a very emotional rollercoaster of human suffering you would not wish on anyone you know, yet these poor souls walk amongst us daily.
mrs_bonaventure's review against another edition
4.0
Sad and revelatory - in the sense that we all know and see this London, but we rarely really and truly see it, or refuse to acknowledge it exists. This is about the oppressed, the ones you thank your lucky stars you were not born amongst, no matter how working class your background in Britain. People who struggle to survive every single day and who live in a world far from our privileged existence. Sobering, and sad.
joeysadass's review against another edition
2.0
I wish I could give it a 2.5 because whilst it was interesting to hear some of the stories (I wished there were more of the miserable luxury of the rich), it felt like racial propaganda at points. He keeps on talking as if the white people had vanished but never talked to one of them face to face. Every train ride includes a full racial assessment of every passenger named, every interview with an Eastern European inevitably includes a racist comment against black people (not that this is a negative on the quality of the book but it is something I noticed). No discussion of normal immigrant families and when discussing the dim lives of some immigrants, the lack of mention of White Brits makes it sound like they are living much better lives but we know they are not.
ninaw2's review against another edition
5.0
i love london!!! and i loved learning about the immigrants of london and hearing their stories. amazing and eye opening.
latviadugan's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating, insightful and sometimes disturbing window into contemporary London and it's immigrant nature. What brings them there? What keeps them?
themorsecode's review against another edition
3.0
Great when it focuses on the poor in London - some truly depressing and eye-opening journalism - but far less compelling when it moves onto the wealthy. Judah also often slips into a more fiction-based style which takes away from the great research he does.