Salaam Brick Lane: A Year in the New East End - Softcover

Hall, Tarquin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0719565561 ISBN 13: 9780719565564

Publisher: John Murray, 2006

Synopsis

After 10 years living abroad, Tarquin Hall wanted to return to his native London. Lured by his nostalgia for a leafy suburban childhood spent in south-west London, he returned with his Indian-born, American fiancee in tow. But, priced out of the housing market, they found themselves living not in a townhouse, oozing Victorian charm, but in a squalid attic above a Bangladeshi sweatshop on London's Brick Lane. A grimy skylight provided the only window on their new world—a filthy, noisy street where drug dealers and prostitutes peddled their wares and tramps urinated on the pavements. Yet, as Hall got to know Brick Lane, he discovered beneath its unlovely surface an inner world where immigrants and asylum seekers struggle to better themselves and dream of escape. Salaam Brick Lane is a journey of discovery by an outsider in his own native city.

About this title

About the Author

Tarquin Hall became an under-age journalist at nineteen and spent the next ten years working in Africa, America, Asia and the Middle East. He is the author of Mercenaries, Missionaries and Misfits, an account of his early adventures; and To the Elephant Graveyard: A True Story of the Hunt for a Man-killing Elephant, a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. He is married to the BBC World Service presenter Anu Anand. They live in East London.

Review

'Salaam Brick Lane is a compelling journey of discovery by an outsider in his own city and offers an explicit glimpse of this quarter of London' * Traveller * 'A gem of a book that reveals a hidden world lying right on our doorstep. As the stories unfold, so does our appreciation for Tarquin Hall's acute eye and for the gentle power of his narrative' * Saira Shah, writer and broadcaster * 'He brings a sharp eye and a dry humour to his descriptions' * Anthony Sattin, Sunday Times * 'Tender and harrowing' * The Times * 'A thought-provoking read . . . fascinating insights into fractured lives. And Hall's affectionate portrayals of eccentric acquaintances enhance this touching portrait no end' * Metro * Such a light, playful book and yet with a compelling tow which takes you into the myriad realities of life in the East End of London. * Yasmin Alibhai-Brown * 'Entertaining' * Bookseller * Fascinating and funny * Sunday Times * Entertaining . . . Hall cannily plays the bewildered public schoolboy to a range of different characters . . . allows us to hear the wonderful patter of the East Enders * Times Literary Supplement * This is a beautifully written book about a world we ignore except when it makes tabloid headlines. * American * A remarkable cross-section of British society . . . Hall's sympathetic, anecdotal approach is a fine counter to the appalling racism of much current tabloid journalism . . . This is a fine and eloquent book. * What's On UK * He has a fine ear for the myriad speech patterns of the East End's varied inhabitants. * Daily Mail * I was absolutely riveted. It's funny, enlightening and very moving . . . I'm recommending it to all my friends just because it's such a good read. * Kate Fox, author of Watching the English * Powerful * Kent Messenger * Fascinating and funny * Canterbury, Herne Bay, Whitstable & Faversham Focu * Forthright and funny * Daily Telegraph * Amused and amusing, this is a refreshing addition to the accounts being offered of the area. * Stratford Recorder * Tarquin Hall is right at the heart of what he writes about . . . Hall's new friends spring brilliantly to life off the page . . . it's hard to imagine a more moving or more telling record of lives on the edge * Caroline Gascoigne, Sunday Times * 'Charming, brilliant, affectionate and quietly impassioned ... it manages to be balanced, humane and life-affirming. I hope it sells out faster than cases of Chalky's "Coat de Roen"'. * Guardian * Well-written without mawkish pieties. * Saga Magazine *

Edition details

• Publisher: John Murray
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0719565561
• ISBN 13: 9780719565564
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288