A review by krstwlhs
The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon

3.0

“Both devastating and funny, the Lonely Londoners is an unforgettable account of immigrant experience - and one of the great twentieth-century London novels.”

This book follows a range of characters, primarily Moses Aloetta who has lived in London for a number of years and other characters like Henry Oliver, Cap and Tolroy who have come from the West Indies in the 1950s and try and navigate life in London. Moses looks on as they do so.

I did enjoy this but I do feel like it was far too short. There were too many characters that all needed to be explored in such a short space of time. I felt like I read the first chapter of each character rather than a complete novel. Especially as there wasn’t an overarching plot line, which given the themes of the novel I understood, but it felt like the book just ended without anything being wrapped up.