Lesley Williams

Coincidentally found myself finishing this on Australia/Invasion Day, which made it particularly poignant. This joint (auto-)biography tells the story of Lesley Williams life - from the strictly controlled Cherbourg community, through jobs forced upon her by the bureaucracy tasked with 'protecting' her, to the struggle through the 80s and 90s to gain access to pay that had been kept from her for decades. It's a sad but warm book, with moments of dreadful pain and amazing successes - the intertextual conversation between the two authors (mother & daughter) is sweet and the little moments where they react to each others' writing were my favourite parts of the book. It's not perfect by any means, but it's a necessary, engaging and uplifting book - I wouldn't be at all surprised to see it on the Stella longlist.… (more)