I've just finished reading Underclass. It took me about 3 sittings. This is a book you binge-read. You can't put it down. The reason it took three sittings is the same reason my writing is not my usual style here.
It's the most visceral book I've ever read. To explain a little, I grew up in and around Stoke on Trent, with a life reflected very much in this book. These things are hard for me to say, to accept, to process.
This book is not just important because it's important to me, it's important, period.
If you are a woman, the book will be painfully relatable. If you are a working-class woman, more so. If you are a working-class woman who has entered middle-class academia, it will burn you (in many ways both good and bad). It will imprint onto your soul. She weaves colourfully and intelligently through teen years, what it means to embody girlhood and womanhood and the class system that still controls 'Great' Britain.
If you are someone who appreciates the fine art of balancing humour,…
