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The Blurb On The Back:
Britain is a nation of shopkeepers, and the story of corner shops is the story of who we are.
From the general stores of the first half of the 20th century (one of which was run by the father of a certain Margaret Thatcher), to the reimagined corner shops run by immigrants from India, East Africa and Eastern Europe from the 60s to the noughties, their influence has shaped the way we shop, the way we eat, and the way we understand ourselves.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Babita Sharma is a journalist and presenter who grew up with her family above a corner shop in Reading that her parents owned. In this entertaining read she combines memoir with a brief account of immigration to Britain between the 60s and 90s but there isn’t much depth here, I was largely aware of many of the facts presented here (although the personal angle is interesting) and a mistake about when the EU was formed was jarring.
THE CORNER SHOP: SHOPKEEPERS, THE SHARMAS AND THE MAKING OF MODERN BRITAIN was released in the United Kingdom on 18th April 2019. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
From the general stores of the first half of the 20th century (one of which was run by the father of a certain Margaret Thatcher), to the reimagined corner shops run by immigrants from India, East Africa and Eastern Europe from the 60s to the noughties, their influence has shaped the way we shop, the way we eat, and the way we understand ourselves.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Babita Sharma is a journalist and presenter who grew up with her family above a corner shop in Reading that her parents owned. In this entertaining read she combines memoir with a brief account of immigration to Britain between the 60s and 90s but there isn’t much depth here, I was largely aware of many of the facts presented here (although the personal angle is interesting) and a mistake about when the EU was formed was jarring.
THE CORNER SHOP: SHOPKEEPERS, THE SHARMAS AND THE MAKING OF MODERN BRITAIN was released in the United Kingdom on 18th April 2019. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
