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S'està carregant… The Streets (2012)de Anthony Quinn
S'està carregant…
Apunta't a LibraryThing per saber si aquest llibre et pot agradar. No hi ha cap discussió a Converses sobre aquesta obra. David Wildeblood is the disgraced son of a middle class family who has been employed as a researcher/journalist looking at the slums of Somers Town in London. He makes both friends and enemies amongst the people he meets in the course of the working day. David also comes into the social circle of his Godfather, a rich and important man of business with some connection to Somers Town. David uncovers a social experiment which will remove the poor from the streets and also enrich the developers who want to realise the potential of the area. This leads him into danger. It took me a while to get into this book but once I'd got through the first third I became completely hooked. The slum life of North London in the 1880s is carefully realised and there are some well-drawn characters. David is a bit of an insipid hero at first, the innocent abroad and easily duped. However by the end of the book the compromise conclusion makes complete sense. As a social history this is a little light, as an exciting thriller it is a little weak, as a combination of the two it works very well and therefore is an enjoyable read. Anthony Quinn is a historical novelist gradually travelling backwards through time. His first novel was set in his native Liverpool during the Second World War; his second was concerned with cricket, women's suffrage and the 1914-18 War; The Streets is set in London in 1882. We follow a young reporter, David Wildeblood, who works for a publication that covers the lives of ordinary Londoners in a similar way to the real-life journalistic endeavours of Henry Mayhew and Charles Booth. Wildeblood cannot help getting involved with the lives of his subjects and seeking to uncover who is responsible for the worsening living conditions in his patch. The reader is encouraged to sympathise with those characters who favour compassion over a commitment to laissez faire economics. Those acting out of corrupt self-interest do not emerge well, but the greatest disdain is reserved for those whose distorted understanding of Darwinism leads them to try and stop the poor from reproducing. This may all sound rather heavy and daunting, but the elements of mystery and romance help the novel avoid becoming a fictionalised work of social science. It is a good combination of entertainment and message. Quinn's second novel "Half of the Human Race" probably has a slight edge over this latest outing in my own preferences. It seemed more realistic, whereas at times "The Streets" can feel a bit more like the exaggerated reality one might expect of a Dickens. This is only a minor quibble: I have greatly enjoyed all three of Quinn's books and I look forward to his next. Sense ressenyes | afegeix-hi una ressenya
In 'The Streets', Anthony Quinn reconstructs an unforgettable picture of Victorian London, encompassing the extremes of privilege and privation, from the baronial mansions of the rich to the 'whited tombs' of the slums. No s'han trobat descripcions de biblioteca. |
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Google Books — S'està carregant… GèneresClassificació Decimal de Dewey (DDC)823.92Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 2000-LCC (Clas. Bibl. Congrés EUA)ValoracióMitjana:
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David Wildeblood has a new job. He is an inspector, a fact-collector, charged with touring the North London borough of Somers Town, conducting interviews and collating information to be published in Henry Marchmont’s weekly news sheet ‘The Labouring Classes of London’; living conditions, work, income, religion, diet, pastimes, crime, health etc. Marchmont is based on Henry Mayhew’s ‘London Labour and the London Poor’ and Charles Booth’s ‘Life and Labour of the People of London’. At first Wildeblood is an outsider and woefully naïve, until he stumbles on costermonger Jo. Soon Wildeblood learns the argot, the alleys to avoid, and how to best submit his report to Marchmont’s loyal assistant Mr Rennert. Then he stumbles onto a scheme in which criminal landlords defraud their tenants, refuse to repair their properties then clear the streets for redevelopment leaving the inhabitants homeless. When a local man organizes a protest, he is later found drowned in the river. Wildeblood is warned by a reporter friend, Clifford Paget of ‘The Chronicle’, that his life may be in danger but he continues to investigate.
Wildeblood’s time in Somers Town is juxtaposed with his, albeit tenuous, relationship with his wealthy godfather Sir Martin Elder and Kitty, his daughter. The two stories come together as he recognizes a connection between a social charity providing poor city dwellers with a day trip to the countryside, and what is happening in Somers Town. The tentacles of property exploitation, fraud and social engineering spread around London. At times the sociology and politics of the author intruded into my head and the exposition distracted me from the story but, like all Quinn’s novels, the characters are a delight.
The description of ‘The Streets’ as a ‘thriller’ though, is misleading. This is a thoughtful considered novel. Well-researched, it feels as if this book is close to the author’s heart; perhaps too close. For me, it was a slower, worthy read, compared with his other novels and less accessible.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/ ( )