This is another result of Christmas and birthday book vouchers. A trip to Waterstones and sever books later back home to work the way through them all. As I am reading three or four at once it does not always flow, at last one is finished.
The basis of this book is simple. The writer takes note of the different Underground lines, marks them out on a map, he is obsessed with maps, and then walks along the streets and byways that are covered by each individual line. Clearly he is young, clearly he is fit, clearly he is off his head.
I like the idea.
Beginning with the Victoria line our hero walks from one end to the other, offering small talk, descriptions of stations, conversations with individuals, and vague history as he passes. This is good and quite enjoyable, especially when involving stations, streets, and situations we have all met with.
He then walks across all lines, visiting all stations, and describing the changing scene from built up London, rich London, depressing Harrow, and a vast number of green areas within the city itself.
The only problem I encounter with the book is that after a while it all becomes somewhat 'same.' That is, one line sound just like another, one street like one passed before. This is because he has taken on too big a job. Such an adventure featuring one line only could have investigated the much deeper, offered many more tales of past adventures, crimes and mishaps, and become a more enjoyable read.
However, the sheer size of London, as our friend Fun has shown, means it takes a much deeper enquiry into the locale before we get the best out of the city. This is not to disparage the effort here, on the contrary, it reveals how wide and full the whole of 'London' actually is, and it is not just a spot somewhere in the centre seen regularly on postcards, TV and rubbish films.
The people met along the way can be interesting, though an artist who makes cakes would have been better thrown from the top of the former Nat West Tower Putin fashion rather than entertained.
The whole of the Greater London area covered by the Tube lines, meaning much of the south over the Thames is ignored, reflecting the wide divergence of people, dwellings and high streets that make up the conurbation. London, like all towns and cities, has its own atmosphere. not always pleasant, but it is an enticing place to live. It is also overcrowded, full of pig ignorant people, far too much traffic, and expensive. For instance, to live in the residence I once occupied many years ago, allowing for much improvement to the place, would require around £500 a week to live there. This, plus gas, electric and all those other costs is not something everyone can afford.
The book is well worth a read for anyone who has lived there, it is well written, even allowing for his 'interesting' thought processes as he tries to understand and comprehend what London actually is, and a good book to read, one line at a time. Published in 2011 but not yet out of date regarding most lines and their happenings. I recommend it.
1908
