The Lonely Londoners (Penguin Modern Classics) [Import] [Paperback]

Samuel Selvon (Author), Nasta Susheila (Introduction)

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (July 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141188413
• ISBN-13: 978-0141188416
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,201,442 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A humourous story of London's 1950s immigrants, June 28, 2002

By 

D. M. Farmbrough "Dave Farmbrough" (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lonely Londoners (Longman Caribbean Writer Series) (Paperback)

The humour in this book makes it palatable. Otherwise the straitened circumstances of the characters would make you cry. The title sums it up. The post-war period in London was one of high immigration, with people re-settling due to the war, and due to the economic demands of Britain's economy for migrant workers. This is the story of a few of those migrants, concentrating mainly on the West Indian community, but also featuring a Polish woman. The story shows the daily lives of its characters, their difficulties in finding accommodation, the racism and fear they faced, and the rare examples of friendship from the quasi-indigenous population. The book is an easy read, and short enough never to become tiresome. Selvon occasionally sacrifices narrative consistency to make a few points, and this detracted slightly from my enjoyment of the book. On the whole, though, this comes highly recommended.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must read" for all lovers of West Indian literary works., September 22, 2000

By 

Hazel Saigo-Valentine (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lonely Londoners (Longman Caribbean Writer Series) (Paperback)

"The Lonely Londoners" is my favorite book of all time! With this purchase, I would have bought a total of five(5) copies. The other four however, have gone to the "loaned-a-friend-and-never-got-it-back" graveyard in the sky.

Selvon's account of West Indian immigramt life in 50's/60's London is riveting, poignant and tearfully funny. With realism and timeliness, he captures the unique brotherhood of survival that was the lifeblood of the network that sprung up in Brixton.

Wait until you meet "Tall Boy" as he greets his family at the boat train at Paddington. "All of we come...!"

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A bawdy book, May 31, 2009

By 

Lyndon Baptiste (Piarco, Trinidad) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lonely Londoners (Longman Caribbean Writer Series) (Paperback)

Selvon's Lonely Londoners is second to none.

The author is intimitate with life, his characters, and immerses the reader in the "blackness" of a white, foggy London, facing Moses, Sir Galahad, Big City, Tanty and Cap.

This book, by a Trinidadian, is definitely the best I have ever read!

Lyndon Baptiste
Author of Boy Days