By Jennifer Worth.
This book is written by a former midwife who worked in the slums of the East End during the 1950s. It was also later made into a drama series which debuted on the BBC in 2012.
I really enjoyed reading this book, however some aspects of it are a product of their time and as a result I cannot judge the author too harshly for it. The stories were all explained in detail and luckily any differentiations between book and television drama were not that excessive.
However my one criticism of the book is that there was some repetition which luckily did not detract from the books power. At certain points the book does not shy away from being brutal in its representation of East End 1950s life, but that is to be expected especially seeing as she worked so closely alongside the poor and destitute. Despite the gap of 60 years between then and now, it could be argued that the same poverty hasn’t really gone away, it has simply mutated.
I’m not quite sure what I expected of this book, having already seen the drama series. There are, to my recollection, about two other books after this one which I am tempted to seek out. However, I want to explore other genres too.
MY RATING: ***.5 / *****
Every Book Is Beautiful 