This Boy by Alan Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

SPOILER ALERT
In this his first book, Johnson vividly invokes his childhood, the early loss of his mother, and being brought up largely by his elder sister in the Rachman slums of north Kensington. Reading this deeply moving book I found it sometimes difficult to reconcile that Johnson grew up in much the same era as me (i am four years his senior) given the poverty and squalor that he lived in. His mother Lily’s life was a constant struggle against loneliness, grinding poverty and poor health, having married the feckless, ne’er-do-well Steve. She died, aged 42, leaving Alan and Linda, aged 13 and 16, to fend for themselves. Johnson’s sister Linda is the real hero of the story. Resisting attempts to take them into care, she succeeded in persuading the local authority to find them a council flat in Battersea and held the fort until Alan was old enough to make his way in the world.
Given his start in life Alan Johnson could have been forgiven had he turned into an angry, bitter class-warrior instead of the affable, sensible, laid-back politician that he was to become.
If you grew up in much the same era you will find this book riveting.

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