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Haven't stopped dancing yet
Mala is eight years old in 1966 and Bayswater is her oyster as far as she and her three best friends are concerned. In spite of being poor - Beth is the daughter of a prostitute, Caroline's parents are Chinese waiters and Jan's Irish drunks, while Mala's mother is a Ceylonese immigrant single mother who cleans for a living - and being visited regularly by the social, the girls know that life is great and it's only going to get better . . .
- GenresFiction
248 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Shyama Perera
9 books12 followersI'm a writer with three novels rereleased on Kindle - hurrah! - and I had a short play performed in 2012. I contribute short stories and essays to anthologies, and am delighted that from September 2014, I'll be running a literary criticism group in London for the Royal Literary Fund. If you're in the city and off on Monday mornings, join. It's free! You can find out more at www.tricyclereaders.com I pay the bills as a communications consultant, which is a really good way of using all the tricks one learns as a writer commercially - research, information sorting, narrative structure, networking and staying on message. I'm also embarking on a fifth novel (my mojo went AWOL in a fit of pique when publishers rejected the fourth) and hoping that I get this one past 30,000 words, which is always the tipping point for me.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 2, 2013
This book around revolves 4 girls growing up in London,who despite coming from seemingly very differing backgrounds are the best of friends. It spans their life from the age of 10 to 21 taking in such things as the schooling, youth clubs, boyfriends and eventually careers all with a background of 60s and 70s nostalgia be it in music, food or culture. Mala, the narator, has a muddled background, born in Sri Lanka but growing up in London. She wants to be seen as British, wanting to break free of her mother's Sri Lankan influence but because of her heritage and skin colour seen by many as an outsider.
Growing up as I did through the same years as these girls it was great to be reminded of the sounds and tastes of those years long forgotten years. My main problem is with the characterisation. Now initially I was rather charmed by their naivety but as the story progressed this wore off. I found all the girls rather shallow and only put-upon Janice even mildly likeable. Mala was ungrateful and self-centred, Caroline was materialistic and grabbing whilst Bethany disappears for many years comes back as a drug addict/alcoholic who goes into re-hab before coming out a model citizen. Yeah right.
I also failed to note any real change in the girls language despite the passing of 11 years and there perhaps is the nub of the problem. Personally I feel that Shyama Perera was far too ambitious with this book,the story spanned too many years. Whilst it is interesting to see how decicions we and our families make influence our later lives for better and for worse I feel that it would have been better to have concentrated on a far shorter timespan. In the end far too many topics, sexual revolution, racism, the changes in the education system of the time to name a few, are merely skimmed over.
That all said I never felt like throwing in the towel and was curious to get to the end of the book so it can't be all bad. It also made me think about my own relationships with my own parents, siblings and now children.It is just not very likely that this will live terribly long in the memory.
Growing up as I did through the same years as these girls it was great to be reminded of the sounds and tastes of those years long forgotten years. My main problem is with the characterisation. Now initially I was rather charmed by their naivety but as the story progressed this wore off. I found all the girls rather shallow and only put-upon Janice even mildly likeable. Mala was ungrateful and self-centred, Caroline was materialistic and grabbing whilst Bethany disappears for many years comes back as a drug addict/alcoholic who goes into re-hab before coming out a model citizen. Yeah right.
I also failed to note any real change in the girls language despite the passing of 11 years and there perhaps is the nub of the problem. Personally I feel that Shyama Perera was far too ambitious with this book,the story spanned too many years. Whilst it is interesting to see how decicions we and our families make influence our later lives for better and for worse I feel that it would have been better to have concentrated on a far shorter timespan. In the end far too many topics, sexual revolution, racism, the changes in the education system of the time to name a few, are merely skimmed over.
That all said I never felt like throwing in the towel and was curious to get to the end of the book so it can't be all bad. It also made me think about my own relationships with my own parents, siblings and now children.It is just not very likely that this will live terribly long in the memory.
July 21, 2012
I've only marked this with 3 stars and I feel a bit guilty about it. I really enjoyed it, it kept me wanting to sit down and read some more, but 5 stars has got to be stuff that stays with you, and you keep thinking about it, or being reminded of odd phrases even, and this was just a thoroughly enjoyable and well-written book; I might well read it again in a few years.
I loved the references to chart songs I remember from my past, and liked the way they fitted in with the dialogue.
The characters were really good and believable.
Maybe I should give it four stars?
I loved the references to chart songs I remember from my past, and liked the way they fitted in with the dialogue.
The characters were really good and believable.
Maybe I should give it four stars?
July 24, 2014
Ένα πολύ τρυφερό μυθιστόρημα, με στρωτή και ρέουσα αφήγηση. ΠΟλλά πρόσωπα και πολλές πειρπέτειες των τεσσάρων κοριτσιών. Γλυκόπικρο τέλος. Η κουλτούρα και το Λονδίνο των δεκαετιών 60-70 ζωντανεύουν μπρος στα μάτια μας με ένα όμορφο νοητό soundtrack. Ο ρατσισμός, οι αλλαγές στην κοινωνία και τόσα άλλα. Τοποθετείσαι για τα καλά μες στη ζωή των κοριτσιών, και ξαφνικά φτάνεις να ανακαλυπτεις ότι μεγάλωσες κι εσυ τόσο γρήγορα. Και τι μένει μετά? Μα, η ζωή είναι γλυκειά όπως λέει και στο τέλος και συμφωνώ.
Στα ελληνικά από τον Πατάκη το 2000 (Από τότε χορεύω ακόμα).
Στα ελληνικά από τον Πατάκη το 2000 (Από τότε χορεύω ακόμα).
January 20, 2016
Oh dear, this was such a poor book.
The premise was great- follow some young girls growing up in the 60's and 70's via the scrapes they got into, and bookmarked by some of the music of the era.
But the execution was dreadful - narrative stated, but no conclusions or explanations of substance to what had occurred. Almost as if someone had simply pointed a video recorder at their lives, and then just transcribed random bits of it into a book. Like a soap opera, but without any of the drama, character development or signposting musical riffs.
A very disappointing reading experience.
The premise was great- follow some young girls growing up in the 60's and 70's via the scrapes they got into, and bookmarked by some of the music of the era.
But the execution was dreadful - narrative stated, but no conclusions or explanations of substance to what had occurred. Almost as if someone had simply pointed a video recorder at their lives, and then just transcribed random bits of it into a book. Like a soap opera, but without any of the drama, character development or signposting musical riffs.
A very disappointing reading experience.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews