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lucyscott02's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting look at new/ up and coming working class authors in the UK. Something to think about if you’re interested in the class inequalities within the publishing industry and the consequent silencing of WC voices. Lots that people can emotionally resonate with in hear and refreshing to hear real working class stories.
dcossai's review
4.0
Common People is born out of a reality which we rarely think about, but one which strikes us as obviously true when we’re confronted with it so directly: most of the time we think of reading, writing and publishing as middle class pursuits. Working class people do not have the luxury of indulging in creative writing courses, networking with publishers, or sipping posh coffees while typing their next novel on a fancy new Macbook. Nor do they have the time to read.
Or so we’re told.
Kit de Waal brings together dozens of well established British and (Northern) Irish writers (Malorie Blackman & Lisa McInerney, to name a couple) from working class backgrounds with one aim: to highlight and reclaim the role of the working class in literature. Together they form an eclectic collection of essays (mainly), short stories and a couple of poems. There is only one common thread running through this very diverse set of pieces: the working class reality. Most contributors take a memoir-like approach, often from childhood, highlighting the beliefs, convictions and passions of working class families. Others take a more academic approach, and others still directly address the working class in relation to writing/publishing and the prejudices and assumptions they often face in the industry. Few come under this final category, but then, their writing isn’t formed by these prejudices alone but by the totality of their experience, one that is much richer than that of the stock working class characters we often find in literature. For the working class is not just work: it is the sheer delight a grandmother feels when she is able to buy a brand new school uniform for her grandchildren, or what Leicester City winning the Premier League means for an entire community. Weddings and funerals, darts and billiards, Grenfell and Brexit, and so many more topics take centre stage in piece after piece.
Why doesn’t the working class feel the need to tell its stories, asks one writer? At the end of this book, I’m left with only one answer: it does - we’re just not very good at recognising them.
Or so we’re told.
Kit de Waal brings together dozens of well established British and (Northern) Irish writers (Malorie Blackman & Lisa McInerney, to name a couple) from working class backgrounds with one aim: to highlight and reclaim the role of the working class in literature. Together they form an eclectic collection of essays (mainly), short stories and a couple of poems. There is only one common thread running through this very diverse set of pieces: the working class reality. Most contributors take a memoir-like approach, often from childhood, highlighting the beliefs, convictions and passions of working class families. Others take a more academic approach, and others still directly address the working class in relation to writing/publishing and the prejudices and assumptions they often face in the industry. Few come under this final category, but then, their writing isn’t formed by these prejudices alone but by the totality of their experience, one that is much richer than that of the stock working class characters we often find in literature. For the working class is not just work: it is the sheer delight a grandmother feels when she is able to buy a brand new school uniform for her grandchildren, or what Leicester City winning the Premier League means for an entire community. Weddings and funerals, darts and billiards, Grenfell and Brexit, and so many more topics take centre stage in piece after piece.
Why doesn’t the working class feel the need to tell its stories, asks one writer? At the end of this book, I’m left with only one answer: it does - we’re just not very good at recognising them.
rebeccabream's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
4.75
I found this refreshing! It's a collection, mostly comprised of short memoirs, by 33 writers of working class backgrounds. Whilst some writers are well known, for some this is their first published piece.
Each piece offers something in its own right, but all contribute to revealing perspectives which haven't historically been prioritised - perspectives which have seldom been given the chance to share their own stories.
I'm more sure than ever that it's time to do away with the class inequality of British creative industries.
booksofjj's review
3.0
Like most anthologies, it was a little hit-and-miss with the stories that I liked and didn't. As a "common" person myself I could relate to the stories a far bit, especially those where I knew the locations being mentioned.
snoakes7001's review
5.0
Common People is an anthology of writing by people who all share a working class background. These are voices that are less commonly heard in the predominantly white middle class world of publishing.
The pieces cover a wide variety of experiences, childhood, sport (pool, darts, football and the dogs), and life in general. They are diverse in tone as well as theme and every author is one I would want to read again. Most are prose, but there are a couple of poems as well.
Here are some of my personal favourites:
Tough - the opening poem by Tony Walsh aka Longfella
Which Floor? by Loretta Ramkissoon - about living in a tower block and the communality that comes from sharing the lift
No Lay, No Pay by Paul Allen - about the blokey camaraderie of the building site
Passengers by Shaun Wilson - about his fledgling relationship with his half brother just out of prison
Dear Nobody by Alex Wheatle - an inspiring letter to his younger self
Black Cat Dreaming by Astra Bloom - a heart-rending story about a child's ruined dream
All in all it's a cracking collection of interesting & inspiring short reads.
The pieces cover a wide variety of experiences, childhood, sport (pool, darts, football and the dogs), and life in general. They are diverse in tone as well as theme and every author is one I would want to read again. Most are prose, but there are a couple of poems as well.
Here are some of my personal favourites:
Tough - the opening poem by Tony Walsh aka Longfella
Which Floor? by Loretta Ramkissoon - about living in a tower block and the communality that comes from sharing the lift
No Lay, No Pay by Paul Allen - about the blokey camaraderie of the building site
Passengers by Shaun Wilson - about his fledgling relationship with his half brother just out of prison
Dear Nobody by Alex Wheatle - an inspiring letter to his younger self
Black Cat Dreaming by Astra Bloom - a heart-rending story about a child's ruined dream
All in all it's a cracking collection of interesting & inspiring short reads.
claire_michelle18's review
4.0
A really thought provoking collection of essays from working class writers about a wide range of working class experiences. As someone who's from a working class background, although I'm not sure I can call myself working class anymore, lots of the essays resonated - and made me realise how rarely you see genuine working class voices in either fiction or non-fiction. Some of the essays were of variable quality (as is normal with anthologies) but overall a really good read.