emmkayt's review against another edition
4.0
Meek is a journalist with the London Review of Books. This is a fascinating and thoughtful look at the Brexit phenomenon, which I think would interest both puzzled foreigners like myself as well as Britons.
Meek visits Grimsby, a former centre of the fishing industry that may have a future in windpower, during a hotly contested election. He speaks with both organic and conventional farmers to explore the effects of EU subsidies. He delves into what seems like endless restructuring of the NHS in Leicester (very interesting for those with experience in restructuring in other industries or jurisdictions - different acronyms but some of the same issues!). He also visits both a town in England that loses a longstanding Cadbury factory and the community in Poland that got a new one. In each of these chapters, there's a helpful blend of lived experiences and attention to structural nuances and trends. Well worth reading!
Meek visits Grimsby, a former centre of the fishing industry that may have a future in windpower, during a hotly contested election. He speaks with both organic and conventional farmers to explore the effects of EU subsidies. He delves into what seems like endless restructuring of the NHS in Leicester (very interesting for those with experience in restructuring in other industries or jurisdictions - different acronyms but some of the same issues!). He also visits both a town in England that loses a longstanding Cadbury factory and the community in Poland that got a new one. In each of these chapters, there's a helpful blend of lived experiences and attention to structural nuances and trends. Well worth reading!
mickymac's review against another edition
5.0
excellent detail and exquisite prose as James Meek explores the dreams behind Remain and Leave starting Grimsby and ending in Silesia.
sarahkomas's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
I can definitely see the comparisons to Orwell and telling the story behind many stories about Brexit. A good and timely read
jackdwrighton's review
4.0
It feels like almost every week since the referendum a book about Brexit has been published. So far I have wanted to avoid reading about it; why waste precious book time when the news is spewing out op-eds at breakneck speed?
For some reason a proof copy of James Meek’s Dreams of Leaving and Remaining (due March 5th) stood out to me. Now I have finished it I can see why. Meek looks at the underlying issues that have led to Brexit as opposed to celebrating or bemoaning the referendum result.
Over the course of the book, which takes him from Grimsby to Norwich to Poland, he explores how narratives have shaped the debate in a prose which is striking in its elegance. Particular importance is given to institutions or places that evoke deep cultural meaning such as the sea, the NHS and Cadbury. Ultimately this is a book that looks, not at the consequences of Brexit, but at Brexit as the consequence of rising inequality and communities alienated from the powers that affect their day to day lives.
For some reason a proof copy of James Meek’s Dreams of Leaving and Remaining (due March 5th) stood out to me. Now I have finished it I can see why. Meek looks at the underlying issues that have led to Brexit as opposed to celebrating or bemoaning the referendum result.
Over the course of the book, which takes him from Grimsby to Norwich to Poland, he explores how narratives have shaped the debate in a prose which is striking in its elegance. Particular importance is given to institutions or places that evoke deep cultural meaning such as the sea, the NHS and Cadbury. Ultimately this is a book that looks, not at the consequences of Brexit, but at Brexit as the consequence of rising inequality and communities alienated from the powers that affect their day to day lives.
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