Exotic England: The Making of a Curious Nation

by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

BOOKS

Genres: Nonfiction, History

336 pages, Paperback

First published March 5, 2015

Reviews

[Gary]

Why do people immigrate to Britain and hate Britain and the British. If you hate Britain and it's native people and flag and traditions and culture and way of life GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM!

[Rania T]

3.5 stars with a lot of interesting facts thrown in.

[Matt Thackeray]

Written before the recent referendum suggested that some of the ideas proposed in the book aren't true, this book attempts to define "English" (not British) national identity using the Other. While it offers an interesting skim through the murkier parts of colonialism, I still couldn't shake the impression of whitewashing of the past, more "the sun never set on the empire" commentary than "the blood never dried."

[Book Grocer]

Purchase Exotic England here for just $12!

A fresh spin on what it means to be English, this is an interesting addition to any History lover's bookshelf. From food to the economy and everything in between, you will find yourself awash with knowledge.

Elisa, Book Grocer

[Vikas Datta]

Most fascinating account of the identity construction of a whole people leavened with external influences freely absorbed..

[The Contented]

A wonderfully readable book. I fully grasped its political message. But I was also conscious, as I read it, that this was published a year before the Brexit referendum.

[Alex Taylor]

An odd one this. It predates Brexit (written 2015) which makes it feel a little less relevant. Lots of fascinating detail but at times- too much like a list of eccentrics. YAB is a really good writer though.

[Ellen]

Found this really heavy going. 😐