The streets of Ancoats

by Malcolm Lynch

Kevin was nine years old, and a very bright nine years at that, but for the life of him he could not understand why he was supposed to be Irish, and why his parents were supposed to be Irish, and the whole blooming district was supposed to be Irish, and yet they were living in Manchester.It was in fact the grimy ghetto of Ancoats, where clogs struck sparks from cobbles, immigrant men roared Fenian songs in the pub on Saturdays and Father Sullivan castigated his flock from the pulpit on Sundays. Growing up in the late 20's, Kevin, Sean, Patrick, Liam, Micheal and Arthur scuffle in the gutter, torment the loony who haunts local churches (and whom they call Rice Pudding after the mad Russian monk of that name), and try and make sense of the world as presented to them by their elders and betters.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Aaron Watling]

Finishing this book meant finishing my first fiction book of the year and I’m glad it was this one. It is a tale of growing up as something of a stranger in a strange land, as first generation Irish in the heart of industrial Manchester between the wars. For such a short book it managed to illicit within me so many emotions of and memories of my own, completely different, time living in Manchester. It’s a beautiful and sorrowful book, with moments of pure and childish fun and humour running throughout. Highly recommend

[Janet Bird]

I read this back in the day, not the Kindle edition. A very enjoyable read.