Housing Lark (Penguin Modern Classics)

'Irreverent, spirited ... a seriously funny novel' New York Review of Books

Sitting in his cramped basement room in Brixton, Battersby dreams of money, women, a T-bone steak - and a place to call his own. So he and a group of friends decide to save up and buy a house together. But amid grasping landlords, the temptations of spending money and the less-than-welcoming attitude of the Mother Country, can this motley group of hustlers and schemers, Trinidadians and Jamaicans, men and women make their dreams a reality?

'Selvon's meticulously observed narratives of displaced Londoners' lives created a template for how to write about migrant, and postmigrant, London for countless writers who have followed in his wake, including Hanif Kureishi and Zadie Smith' Caryl Phillips

Reviews

Funny, subversive and lyrical ... Selvon's garrulous comically-gifted narrator feels like a friend, spinning surreal yet familiar tales in a late-night drinking den. Yet his stories have a sharp edge. The dark side of the Windrush experience lurks between the laughs and this deeply enjoyable book hides serious literary intent.