'A brilliantly enlightening book...at times moving,at others ironic,full of insights and detail'Michael Rosen'A kaleidoscopic portrait of the UK'Irish TimesOur names are so mundane that we barely notice them. Yet each contains countless stories of tradition and belonging - be that a legacy of colonialism or persecution,the desire to fit in,or the complex cultural inheritance from one's parents. In What's in a Name,Sheela Banerjee unravels the personal histories of friends and family through their names. And while tracing their heritage across centuries and continents - from west London to British India,and from 1960s Jamaica to pre-Revolutionary Russia - Sheela also tells the story of twentieth-century immigration to the UK.Blending history,memoir and politics,What's in a Name is a celebration of Britain's rich multiculturalism,an ode to friendship and a testament to all the stories held within our names.'Absolutely fascinating...the stories woven into this superb book will stay with me for a long time. I cannot recommend it highly enough'Priscilla Morris,author of Black Butterflies
Publisher: Hodder & StoughtonISBN: 9781529367591Number of pages: 336Weight: 440 gDimensions: 218 x 140 x 34 mm
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This is a brilliantly enlightening book that uses the keyhole of people's names to let us see into the lives and histories of people in multicultural Britain. It ranges across continents and epochs,at times moving,at others ironic,full of insights and detail.A kaleidoscopic portrait of the UK...Banerjee describes her friends'backgrounds and experiences with insight and compassionExplores the complex stories of colonialism,persecution,faith,assimilation and hope...It will resonate with anyone who feels their name marks them out...Banerjee paints a heartbreakingly tender portrait of her father's journeyA brilliant book where she examines how her name can tell us so much about her family and their story. And she looks at some of her friends'names too . . . fascinating stories weaving in and around the subject of namesAn absolutely fascinating deep dive into Sheela's own Bengali name and the names of several of her close friends,uncovering migration stories from Tsarist Russia,India,Cyprus,Sri Lanka,the Middle East and Jamaica and the shocking racism of growing up in'70s and'80s Britain. It's compelling reading,painting a picture of multicultural Britain today that is both familiar and eye-opening. It makes you think of your own name and its impact,and reflect on those of your friends. Excellent,highly readable and absorbing,the stories woven into this superb book will stay with me for a long time. I cannot recommend What's In a Name highly enough.'
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