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Never Far from Nowhere
 
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Never Far from Nowhere (Paperback)

by Andrea Levy (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Never Far from Nowhere + Fruit of the Lemon + Every Light in the House Burnin'
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Product details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Headline Review (8 Aug 1996)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0747252130
  • ISBN-13: 978-0747252139
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 29,226 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #5 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > L > Levy, Andrea

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Product Description

Elle

‘Levy's raw sense of realism and depth of feeling infuses every line' Elle


Review

‘Levy’s raw sense of realism and depth of feeling infuses every line’ Elle (Elle )
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Never Far from Nowhere
72% buy the item featured on this page:
Never Far from Nowhere 4.3 out of 5 stars (6)
£5.56
Fruit of the Lemon
11% buy
Fruit of the Lemon 4.0 out of 5 stars (10)
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Small Island
8% buy
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8% buy
Every Light in the House Burnin' 4.1 out of 5 stars (9)
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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Memories of my Childhood!, 3 April 2006
By Wendy (London) - See all my reviews
A gritty, bitter-sweet read that I couldn't put down. Sympathetically written from the viewpoint of each sister, Levy slips effortlessly between the siblings in alternate chapters. I could identify most characters with someone in my past (or present). The attitudes experienced by Olive because of her black skin will be wearily recognised by many. Vivien struggling to fit in with her peers and thereby denying her true identity is sad and defeatist, but still draws sympathy. The descriptions of the council estates reminded me of my own childhood. I smiled at the clever descriptions of the oil lamp and busy wallpaper which are so 70s. The language is quite raw, but realistic. I read this book on the bus and was a bit concerned about the 'f' words being read over my shoulder! (I also read Levy's 'Small Island' which was a gem. Intend to read all of her books).
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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A well written, very observant account of cultural ID crisis, 5 Mar 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Never Far from Nowhere (Hardcover)
Andrea Levy's second book cuts to the quick of the very real and personal issues of identity crisis that many black people in Britain have had to deal with over the last fifty years. Set in the late seventies it is the tale of two sisters growing up in the same home, going to the same school and being presented with the same opportunities; yet whose lives take very different courses.

They are very different personalities, Vivien: shy and thoughtful; Olive; brash and frequently selfish; and the reader is often sucked into the appealing notion that each is completely responsible for their own accomplishments and downfalls. However, this is the ironic illusion that Andrea Levy wishes to draw the reader in to. The stark truth of the story is that external forces, namely their own parent's - and particularly their mother's - predjudice, has been the most powerful carving force on their lives... for Olive is a shade or two darker than her sister, and their mother believes that due to her own mixed parentage, that she isn't really black.

I really loved this book, it gives you a real sense of the displacement that many first and second generation Carribean's must truly feel; the lack of a sense of home when the British winter bites and you know the sun is beating down on the fields of Jamaica!

If 'Never far from nowhere' falls down in any respect, it's in its failure to address the relationships between the two sisters and other black people outside the family. All their freinds, boyfreinds, work colleagues are white, and for life on a Finsbury Park council estate, this rang a little untrue. Nevertheless, aside from this 'glitch' it is a great book and a great piece of social commentary on modern Britain.

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41 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars a little local difficulty with objectivity, 16 Oct 2004
Having enjoyed "Small Island", I've started to read all Andrea Levy's earlier books which are essentially autobiographical and give a fascinating insight into the reality of being brought up on a dodgy inner London estate by black parents who denied their colour. I like her writing, which is honest and simple (that isn't patronising, it reflects my admiration for her lack of pretension and artifice). We must be exactly the same age - I enjoyed the reminders of what we wore in the early seventies, of how a working class child approached and tackled grammar school life, "posh people" and low expectations. I didn't share her experiences of casual and horrific violence as I have never lived in London, and I'm white - but much of what she writes about illuminated memories of some shared elements of my young adulthood, particularly the scary and exciting stirrings of freedom from family and the realisation that you CAN be different. As I read the book, it began to seem weirdly familiar - and I realised that I am married to "Peter" thirty years on. So, to the reviewer who states that the almost total exclusion of black people from Vivien's life is scarcely credible: well, it's TRUE, so there! And if you ever read this, Andrea, all the best from your ex-brother in law! He has attested to the basic truths of your story, and wishes me to tell you that you are probably the only ex-in law (in a complcated life) who doesn't believe he's a complete b*st*rd...........and he always liked you too!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Growing up in a sometimes hostile world
Olive and Vivien are sisters growing up in the 1970s on a London housing estate in which they are virtually the only mixed-race family. Read more
Published 1 month ago by E. Shaw

5.0 out of 5 stars So real and down to earth
I bought this book because I enjoyed 'Small Island' so much. This is a different type of story telling by Levy but altogether more real and gritty with scenes that are etched in... Read more
Published on 6 Aug 2007 by Ms. H. Austin

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerfull and Painful novel
It is a brilliant novel where the stereotypes are let behind. It shows the social reality from such a different point of view from the one you are used to look Britain at, a... Read more
Published on 14 Oct 1999

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