booksofjj's review
3.0
Like most anthologies, it was a little hit-and-miss with the stories that I liked and didn't. As a "common" person myself I could relate to the stories a far bit, especially those where I knew the locations being mentioned.
snoakes7001's review
5.0
Common People is an anthology of writing by people who all share a working class background. These are voices that are less commonly heard in the predominantly white middle class world of publishing.
The pieces cover a wide variety of experiences, childhood, sport (pool, darts, football and the dogs), and life in general. They are diverse in tone as well as theme and every author is one I would want to read again. Most are prose, but there are a couple of poems as well.
Here are some of my personal favourites:
Tough - the opening poem by Tony Walsh aka Longfella
Which Floor? by Loretta Ramkissoon - about living in a tower block and the communality that comes from sharing the lift
No Lay, No Pay by Paul Allen - about the blokey camaraderie of the building site
Passengers by Shaun Wilson - about his fledgling relationship with his half brother just out of prison
Dear Nobody by Alex Wheatle - an inspiring letter to his younger self
Black Cat Dreaming by Astra Bloom - a heart-rending story about a child's ruined dream
All in all it's a cracking collection of interesting & inspiring short reads.
The pieces cover a wide variety of experiences, childhood, sport (pool, darts, football and the dogs), and life in general. They are diverse in tone as well as theme and every author is one I would want to read again. Most are prose, but there are a couple of poems as well.
Here are some of my personal favourites:
Tough - the opening poem by Tony Walsh aka Longfella
Which Floor? by Loretta Ramkissoon - about living in a tower block and the communality that comes from sharing the lift
No Lay, No Pay by Paul Allen - about the blokey camaraderie of the building site
Passengers by Shaun Wilson - about his fledgling relationship with his half brother just out of prison
Dear Nobody by Alex Wheatle - an inspiring letter to his younger self
Black Cat Dreaming by Astra Bloom - a heart-rending story about a child's ruined dream
All in all it's a cracking collection of interesting & inspiring short reads.
claire_michelle18's review
4.0
A really thought provoking collection of essays from working class writers about a wide range of working class experiences. As someone who's from a working class background, although I'm not sure I can call myself working class anymore, lots of the essays resonated - and made me realise how rarely you see genuine working class voices in either fiction or non-fiction. Some of the essays were of variable quality (as is normal with anthologies) but overall a really good read.
barry_x's review
5.0
This is a stunning anthology of memoir, literary non-fiction, poetry and essays by working class writers.
Containing contributions from thirty three different working class authors this is a necessary contribution to anyone's library and is a small drop in an ocean of middle class writing in the UK. It's something that has bothered me for a while, particularly when I was reading non-genre fiction that overwhelmingly the characters and settings were predominantly middle class, and when working class people were depicted it was either as criminals or living in absolute squalor. Indeed, if I read a book about 'yet another nice middle class family' it would almost be minus a star before I started! Part of the problem, was for me I would often read contemporary fiction set in places I knew but never with people like me. Despite the richness of working class culture and it's contribution to art, music and literature it is often co-opted, unacknowledged and those voices made invisible.
The introduction and promotion for the book state the case for the need for this book. Publishing in the UK is predominantly white, middle class and London-centric. It is hardly surprising that characterisation in published work has a white, middle class and London-centric lens!
What this book does really well is highlight the richness of working class cultures across the country. In pretty much every piece I found something I could relate to and yet the diversity on display shows that the working class are not a monolithic entity, as is often depicted in the media (indeed portrayals about 'the working class' and Brexit or the 'Red Wall' are often ridiculous in their simplicity). I really appreciated that this book has a richness of diversity, with race, gender, age, geography and place all represented - and yet all the stories are rooted in our class.
There is also an egalitarianism and equal space and voice given to the authors - so there are some established well known authors in here like Stuart Maconie and Malorie Blackman but they are not centred and sit happily side by side with authors whose contribution is their first published work.
Most of the stories take the form of memoir and are looking back on the author's past. I enjoyed reading about the range of matriarchs in the stories, indeed this collection could have been called, 'things my Nan said'. There's so much wisdom in these pages.
Some of the stories are harrowing and challenging, exploring sexual violence, drug abuse and neglect, but whilst there is space for these voices the overall tone is not grim, or a thinly veiled 'poverty porn' collection. And that's because these stories also contain a deep love, respect and a smile for what really mattered and the grounding it gives an individual.
The contributions are all well written, and I had an emotional reaction to pretty much all of them. Everything is of top notch quality, and I suppose that's something that interests me - that working class people do have voices, can write good literature and definitely aren't thick! Incidentally I saw a 'what class are you quiz' and as usual it suggested appreciating theatre or literature are 'middle class'. One thing that is prevalent in the book is the number of authors who had families who despite their struggles wanted their kids to 'get on'.
I suppose if I had a minor criticism it would be that some of the contributions were 'looking back' at a class they once were in but are not now and I would have appreciated more 'poor and working class' voices because those are the voices we need to amplify now. I get it, my job and salary mark me out as middle class now, despite the first quarter of a century of my life being poor and working class with periods of homelessness and poverty. I could never be middle class, my values are set but that doesn't mean who I am today carries the same struggles as a lone parent on minimum wage in insecure housing. Like many of these authors I feel a deep need to document and honour my past as a way of preserving it but it would be disingenuous to say I am living it now.
It's hard to single out favourites in the collection so I'll just highlight a few;
Loretta Ramkissoon's 'Which Floor?' is a brilliant exploration of life in a tower block. I loved those 'once a year in the lift' conversations and how even in big blocks you'd get to know people and the neighbours you met. She absolutely captured that feeling of community I remember well from living in the flats. It isn't all smack heads and kids mugging in the stairwells. There is a motif throughout of when someone is carried out once they die they are upright in the lift. Felt like punching the air with the notion of leaving with your head held high and it brought a smile to my face remembering a friend and neighbour who is no longer with us.
Katy Massey's piece is a wonderful piece about race, sex work and community (I was reading a tweet today criticising left wing men who are SWERF's and the fact that sex workers have practiced mutual aid forever).
Stuart Maconie takes us for a wonderful walk around Wigan. Makes me want a chippy tea and a kick about with the lads.
Chris McRudden's 'Shy Bairns Get Nowt' brought a smile to my face thinking about two families, and the need to 'keep up appearances' in working class families and communities.
Jodie Russian-Red made me smile to with her piece about working class weddings and funerals and the coming together, what are people wearing, who is falling out with who, how much did that round cost anyway! As the extended family of my childhood has grown up and my immediate family dispersed I kind of lament the lack of baptisms, weddings and funerals and the associated social club do's. When I was growing up you couldn't go five minutes without a party and now I think of my siblings. There are seven of us and only two weddings and out of eight kids no baptisms - someone needs a big birthday!
There are stories about football (that touched me, we all miss our mates), pool, darts, the dogs but also education and the inspiration of poetry. They sit alongside stories about industrial action, and self-sufficiency off-grid in the country. Oh, and a story about helping your Dad on site being a brickie - I am sure a lot of men will read this with a smile, reading about their first jobs doing physical labour with a bunch of 'older men' and the way that the young lads are mercilessly treated!
As an aside I found out about this book from an interview with the editor on https://www.theclassworkproject.com/ . I strongly recommend picking up Lumpen, a journal for poor and working class writers.
Excellent book
Containing contributions from thirty three different working class authors this is a necessary contribution to anyone's library and is a small drop in an ocean of middle class writing in the UK. It's something that has bothered me for a while, particularly when I was reading non-genre fiction that overwhelmingly the characters and settings were predominantly middle class, and when working class people were depicted it was either as criminals or living in absolute squalor. Indeed, if I read a book about 'yet another nice middle class family' it would almost be minus a star before I started! Part of the problem, was for me I would often read contemporary fiction set in places I knew but never with people like me. Despite the richness of working class culture and it's contribution to art, music and literature it is often co-opted, unacknowledged and those voices made invisible.
The introduction and promotion for the book state the case for the need for this book. Publishing in the UK is predominantly white, middle class and London-centric. It is hardly surprising that characterisation in published work has a white, middle class and London-centric lens!
What this book does really well is highlight the richness of working class cultures across the country. In pretty much every piece I found something I could relate to and yet the diversity on display shows that the working class are not a monolithic entity, as is often depicted in the media (indeed portrayals about 'the working class' and Brexit or the 'Red Wall' are often ridiculous in their simplicity). I really appreciated that this book has a richness of diversity, with race, gender, age, geography and place all represented - and yet all the stories are rooted in our class.
There is also an egalitarianism and equal space and voice given to the authors - so there are some established well known authors in here like Stuart Maconie and Malorie Blackman but they are not centred and sit happily side by side with authors whose contribution is their first published work.
Most of the stories take the form of memoir and are looking back on the author's past. I enjoyed reading about the range of matriarchs in the stories, indeed this collection could have been called, 'things my Nan said'. There's so much wisdom in these pages.
Some of the stories are harrowing and challenging, exploring sexual violence, drug abuse and neglect, but whilst there is space for these voices the overall tone is not grim, or a thinly veiled 'poverty porn' collection. And that's because these stories also contain a deep love, respect and a smile for what really mattered and the grounding it gives an individual.
The contributions are all well written, and I had an emotional reaction to pretty much all of them. Everything is of top notch quality, and I suppose that's something that interests me - that working class people do have voices, can write good literature and definitely aren't thick! Incidentally I saw a 'what class are you quiz' and as usual it suggested appreciating theatre or literature are 'middle class'. One thing that is prevalent in the book is the number of authors who had families who despite their struggles wanted their kids to 'get on'.
I suppose if I had a minor criticism it would be that some of the contributions were 'looking back' at a class they once were in but are not now and I would have appreciated more 'poor and working class' voices because those are the voices we need to amplify now. I get it, my job and salary mark me out as middle class now, despite the first quarter of a century of my life being poor and working class with periods of homelessness and poverty. I could never be middle class, my values are set but that doesn't mean who I am today carries the same struggles as a lone parent on minimum wage in insecure housing. Like many of these authors I feel a deep need to document and honour my past as a way of preserving it but it would be disingenuous to say I am living it now.
It's hard to single out favourites in the collection so I'll just highlight a few;
Loretta Ramkissoon's 'Which Floor?' is a brilliant exploration of life in a tower block. I loved those 'once a year in the lift' conversations and how even in big blocks you'd get to know people and the neighbours you met. She absolutely captured that feeling of community I remember well from living in the flats. It isn't all smack heads and kids mugging in the stairwells. There is a motif throughout of when someone is carried out once they die they are upright in the lift. Felt like punching the air with the notion of leaving with your head held high and it brought a smile to my face remembering a friend and neighbour who is no longer with us.
Katy Massey's piece is a wonderful piece about race, sex work and community (I was reading a tweet today criticising left wing men who are SWERF's and the fact that sex workers have practiced mutual aid forever).
Stuart Maconie takes us for a wonderful walk around Wigan. Makes me want a chippy tea and a kick about with the lads.
Chris McRudden's 'Shy Bairns Get Nowt' brought a smile to my face thinking about two families, and the need to 'keep up appearances' in working class families and communities.
Jodie Russian-Red made me smile to with her piece about working class weddings and funerals and the coming together, what are people wearing, who is falling out with who, how much did that round cost anyway! As the extended family of my childhood has grown up and my immediate family dispersed I kind of lament the lack of baptisms, weddings and funerals and the associated social club do's. When I was growing up you couldn't go five minutes without a party and now I think of my siblings. There are seven of us and only two weddings and out of eight kids no baptisms - someone needs a big birthday!
There are stories about football (that touched me, we all miss our mates), pool, darts, the dogs but also education and the inspiration of poetry. They sit alongside stories about industrial action, and self-sufficiency off-grid in the country. Oh, and a story about helping your Dad on site being a brickie - I am sure a lot of men will read this with a smile, reading about their first jobs doing physical labour with a bunch of 'older men' and the way that the young lads are mercilessly treated!
As an aside I found out about this book from an interview with the editor on https://www.theclassworkproject.com/ . I strongly recommend picking up Lumpen, a journal for poor and working class writers.
Excellent book
isering's review
4.0
Excellent. A collection of essays/memories by writers with working-class backgrounds. All very different but with some common threads.