Dimensions
143 x 224 x 32mm
In the mould of John O'Farrell's 'Things Can Only Get Better', this is a highly articulate and moving portrait of a time and place: alternative London of the 1970 and 80s. Alternative politics, libertarian socialism, experimental living, feminist communes, street theatre, radical magazine, love affairs - gay and straight...sex 'n' drugs 'n' rock 'n' roll.
'Paper Houses' is the memoir of a young woman who comes down from Oxford to London in 1970, determined to break free from a conventional middle-class, close-knit family. In the streets and houses of a dynamic, shifting London she finds alternative homes, alternative families and friendships that challenge, inform and shape her.
Her all-consuming longing to write causes conflict in her relationships and financial issues that lead her to something of an urban nomadic existence. Creating her own space - and learning to share it - in the houses of Holloway, Camberwell, Regent's Park, Notting Hill Gate and Peckham creates intellectual and ethical challenges, and leads to escape adventures in Bangkok, Bali and Italy.
This is a story about rebellion, revolution, love, London and a girl who tastes freedom.
