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Black British : a novel / Hebe de Souza.

By: Publication details: Edgecliff, New South Wales : Ventura Press, 2016.Description: xiii, 277 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmISBN:
  • 9781925384901
  • 192538490X
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • A823.4 23
Summary: A sharply funny yet poignant story about a courageous girl growing up in 1960s North India, from an exciting new voice in Australian fiction. In the turbulent years that follow the British Empire's collapse in India, rebellious and inquisitive Lucy de Souza is born into an affluent Indian family that once prospered under the Raj. Known as Black British because of their English language and customs, when the British deserted India Lucy's family was left behind, strangers in their own land. Now living isolated from the hostile locals who see her family as remnants of an oppressive regime, a young Lucy grows up in the confines of their grand yet ramshackle home located in the dry, dispirited plains of Kanpur. But when it is time to start her education, Lucy finds herself angry and alone, struggling to find her place in this gentle country ravaged by poverty and hardship, surrounded by girls who look like her but don't speak her language. Encouraged by her strong-minded mother and two older sisters, as she matures the ever-feisty Lucy begins to question the injustices around her, before facing a decision that will change the course of her life forever. A richly visceral and stunning debut, based on the author's own childhood, Black British is an unflinching and beautiful narrative about feminism, family and the search for identity.
List(s) this item appears in: Australian General Fiction
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode Item reserves
Book Melbourne Athenaeum Library Fiction SOU Available 065033
Total reserves: 0

Paperback.

A sharply funny yet poignant story about a courageous girl growing up in 1960s North India, from an exciting new voice in Australian fiction. In the turbulent years that follow the British Empire's collapse in India, rebellious and inquisitive Lucy de Souza is born into an affluent Indian family that once prospered under the Raj. Known as Black British because of their English language and customs, when the British deserted India Lucy's family was left behind, strangers in their own land. Now living isolated from the hostile locals who see her family as remnants of an oppressive regime, a young Lucy grows up in the confines of their grand yet ramshackle home located in the dry, dispirited plains of Kanpur. But when it is time to start her education, Lucy finds herself angry and alone, struggling to find her place in this gentle country ravaged by poverty and hardship, surrounded by girls who look like her but don't speak her language. Encouraged by her strong-minded mother and two older sisters, as she matures the ever-feisty Lucy begins to question the injustices around her, before facing a decision that will change the course of her life forever. A richly visceral and stunning debut, based on the author's own childhood, Black British is an unflinching and beautiful narrative about feminism, family and the search for identity.

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