Reviews

Our Hidden Lives: The Remarkable Diaries of Postwar Britain by Simon Garfield

zoer03's review against another edition

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5.0

Absolutely fascinating insight in the ordinary lives of people living just after WW2. Some of the people I grew to love and some well were a little odd but I was fond of them too. Am wanting to read the diary’s through the war years.

philippakmoore's review against another edition

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5.0

Absolutely compelling reading - such rich detail of every day lives in the first few years after the end of World War Two. Some of the diary entries made me pause in surprise (and shock occasionally) as I realised very little has changed, in terms of society, attitudes, and human nature. They could have been described the London I live in now, and some of the people in it. The only thing that's changed is technology.
Highly recommended reading.

soupy_twist's review against another edition

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informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0


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bookwormbev17's review

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informative reflective medium-paced

3.25

coyney13's review against another edition

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5.0

Love these sort of books

coyney1825's review against another edition

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5.0

Love these sort of books

frogautumn's review

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funny hopeful informative lighthearted slow-paced

4.0

nocto's review against another edition

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5.0

Darren has had this book for a while and I picked it up whilst hankering after something more biographical to read than my usual fare. (I think Darren actually ended up listening to a radio adaption rather than reading it.) It is the interleaved diaries of five people covering the period just after the end of WWII.

The diaries were written for a government initiated "Mass Observation" project started in the 1930s (and it seems it still goes on today) - the various characters included in the book have all I think gone a bit beyond the project's remit, but these diaries are fascinating! Mostly they are taken up with everyday grumbling about prices, rations, politics, neighbours etc and although some of their thoughts are rather unpalatable sixty years later the underlying nature of the diarists was pretty familiar.

I'm pleased to find out that there are various other books based on the Mass Observation archive - two more by Garfield since he edited this one and several others that look worth looking into too.

your_true_shelf's review against another edition

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2.0

I hardly ever give up on a book, but I'm afraid after the first 150 pages of this one, I couldn't face another 400. The entries are sweet and interesting, and quite often funny, but nothing much happens. I found that it became very repetitive and that unfortunately, my interest was not held enough to keep reading.

zoer03's review

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5.0

Absolutely fascinating insight in the ordinary lives of people living just after WW2. Some of the people I grew to love and some well were a little odd but I was fond of them too. Am wanting to read the diary’s through the war years.