It will make you think about the society that we live in. This book will make you laugh and it will make you cry. However, following his adventures, with their ups and downs, is an enjoyable ride, liberally splashed with some good humour and many touching moments and reminiscences. Unsurprisingly, finding work is not as easy has Lev had thought it would be. Throughout the book, this lady comes to Lev's rescue in times of trouble. The truth becomes apparent within 24 hours of his arrival at Victoria Bus Terminus when he finds out how much it's going to cost for one night's B&B.ĭuring the bus journey, Lev has struck up a friendship with a female teacher who already has good contacts in London. His life-long friend, who supposedly knows such things, has told Lev that he should be able to get by in London on £20 a week. Lev is into his early forties, has recently lost his wife to cancer and believes that the only way that he can support his very young daughter and his mother is to find himself a job in London. The journey begins with Lev's bus journey from his home in Eastern Europe to the loneliness of impersonal London. Almost a Five Star Read, 9.5 out of 12.įiction so convincing that it could be a true story. All in all though, a thought provoking read, one that touched me on multiple levels, but at heart this is a feel-good story, and an inspirational one, despite the fair amount of darkness found within. Another golden touch, was not to paint Lev as a saint which added a lot more realism to this read. What places this book above almost anything else I've read around similar issues, was that Lev's migrant journey was such a limited part of his personal story the story at heart is about a man who's lost his way after a personal tragedy is compounded by economic collapse at home a story of him seeking a solution, initially an economic solution via the West, but then realising that, that was just the beginning and that he needed something more to create a future for himself and his family and friends. This book not only completely humanises the migrant experience, but also made me think how far we have fallen in the West, that this writer (and others) felt there was a need for a humanising migrant story. Rose Tremain strongly underlines her high status in literary circle with this very intelligent, and thought provoking look at just one migrant's tale, his dreams, his drives, his perceptions of the West and as importantly of himself this is all coupled with his striving to heal after being widowed. The story, told from his perspective is of his time in London, his interrelations with the various classes of people he comes across, his experiences day-2-day and work he undertook. Eastern European (country unspecified) middle-aged greying and recently widowed Lev moves to London so that he can raise money to send to his mother, his five-year old daughter and his rambunctious best friend Rudy.
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