Once Upon a Time in England

by Helen Walsh

book data

26 ratings, 3.54 average rating, 9 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		19%
4		34%
3		30%
2		11%
1		3%

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published

March 6th 2008 by Canongate Books Ltd

binding

Hardcover

isbn

1841958689 (isbn13: 9781841958682)

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 55)

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03/23/09

Veronica rated it:

bookshelves: fiction, mooched

Eat your heart out, Philip Hensher. This "state of England" novel, covering much of the same period as The Northern Clemency, blows it out of the water. It tells the story of a disintegrating mixed-race family, Irish musician Robbie Fitzgerald, his Malaysian wife Susheela, and their two children, Vincent and Ellie, through the 1970s and up to 1989. It starts with the brutal racism of a rough estate in Warrington, and moves on to the more discreet racism of a genteel suburb where Sushee...more Eat your heart out, Philip Hensher. This "state of England" novel, covering much of the same period as The Northern Clemency, blows it out of the water. It tells the story of a disintegrating mixed-race family, Irish musician Robbie Fitzgerald, his Malaysian wife Susheela, and their two children, Vincent and Ellie, through the 1970s and up to 1989. It starts with the brutal racism of a rough estate in Warrington, and moves on to the more discreet racism of a genteel suburb where Susheela tries desperately to integrate with her white neighbours (renaming herself to Sheila in the process) and Robbie gradually falls apart, while the children drift away from their parents into drugs and sex.

The style grabs you from the first sentence; it's a bit purple at times, but so fast and vivid, especially in the drug-fuelled scenes at Legends nightclub, it leaves you gasping for breath. The characters are utterly convincing, with all their faults and foolish choices, and Walsh echoes Tolstoy and George Eliot in the way she makes you angry with the characters while still understanding why they act as they do.

It tackles big themes: racism, queer-bashing, economic decline, drugs ... but without ever seeming as if it is preaching or letting the issues determine the story, rather than the characters. As one of the reviews on Amazon says, "Helen Walsh avoided the trap of creating one-dimensional victims. To a great extent, the characters do not help themselves. There is the feeling that, for example, Vincent is not bullied because he is black, but because he is weak. There is wrong choice after wrong choice. Moving to Thelwall; not reporting the rape; choosing the wrong school bag; buying the wrong car; going to the wrong school; ... It is a catalogue of disasters, some of which might even be funny if they were not so tragic." But at the same time it seems impossible that this family could survive unscathed in the toxic atmosphere of 1970s Warrington, even if they had supported each other better.

Incidentally, I thought Ellie's thirteen-year old behaviour was a bit far-fetched, until I read this interview with Walsh, which suggests that Ellie is largely based on herself.(less)

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06/06/09

Ali rated it:

(review of isbn 1847671233)

Read in June, 2009

On the coldest night of 1975, a young man with shock-red hair tears though the snowbound streets of Warrington's toughest housing estate. He is Robbie Fitzgerald, and he is running for his life - and that of his young family. In his heart, Robbie knows the odds are stacked against them. In this unbending Northern town, he has married the beautiful brown nurse who once stitched up his wounds. Susheela is his Tamil Princess, but in the real world, the Fitzgeralds have to face up to prejudice, pove...more

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03/24/09

Thynk2much rated it:

(review of isbn 1847671799)

bookshelves: sortof-only-half-finished

Read in March, 2009

I literally threw this book away after a hundred pages. The prose was so purple, and so mismatched with the working class subject matter, that I couldn't bear it. That and the endless explanations of what the characters were feeling -- more show less tell, please! Painful. No other way to describe it.

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03/29/08

Christopher rated it:

Read in February, 2008

A mixed race family growing up in the 1980s. Sound a bit like Sadie Smith and White Teeth? I can't help thinking that's exactly what this particular author felt - so she deliberately goes for something harsher, more violent, more unremittingly bleak.

The problem is that Sadie's been here before. If you want to go on this turf, you better be prepared to live up to comparisons and in this case, I am sorry to say, the book fails. The characters are so well drawn, the sad little ends ...more

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03/17/09

Sharon rated it:

(review of isbn 1847671799)

Read in March, 2009

Helen Walsh sucked me into this one towards the end. She really can set the scene.

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03/22/09

Vanessa Filley rated it:

Read in March, 2009

I good read. Very engaging, beautifully written, but predictable.

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06/09/09

Layna rated it:

Read in June, 2009

This would translate so well into a film, hope someone does it.

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12/10/07

Andrea rated it:

bookshelves: highly-recommended

Read in December, 2007

recommends it for: anyone

This is a poignant family drama. It starts with a brutal rape, and just goes downhill from there.

This will not be published until March 2008, and you really must read it. I'm not ashamed to say I cried at the end.

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10/14/08

Jessica rated it:

(review of isbn 1847671799)

This book was fantastic. I couldn't put it down. I suggest you read it.

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