Reviews

Although it is not commonly known there was a significant Black population in England prior to the arrival of the Windrush generation. Among these were Black men who had been enslaved in America, fought on the British side during the American Revolution once the fighting ended. Readers won’t be surprised to learn that 18th century England was not exactly welcoming, nor that survival in London’s seedy underbelly was significantly harder for Black men than white. Incomparable World shines a light on this aspect of British history through the fictional experiences of Buckram, Georgie and William. The setting was vividly brought to life particularly the dark, difficult and threatening reality of many London streets. Real life events such as official attempts to remove Black residents from the city were effectively incorporated. I appreciated the nuanced way Martin explored his topic by giving his three characters different experiences and opinions over issues such as whether it was better to remain in England or go elsewhere and, if they had a choice, where should they go? Africa? Nova Scotia? Brazil. The class difference among Black society plus divides between those who were British born and those born in America were also highlighted. I especially enjoyed the sometimes snarky references to Charles Ignatius Sancho, whom I read about last year in Paterson Joseph’s debut novel. Incomparable World didn’t just focus on the difficulties faced by Buckram, William and Georgie, but also showed the genuine if sometimes frayed bonds between them. There were some poignant moments, none more so than Buckram’s astonishment at seeing Charlotte with her parents. He had never seen an adult Black person with their parents before since slavery so often separated Black families. The heist at the end of the novel seemed a little unlikely, yet it was hard not to cheer for its poetic justice/they had it coming elements. This book might not make my top ten of the year but I’m glad to have read it and will seek out more in the series of rediscovered works about Black Britain curated by none other than Bernardine Evaristo.

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mj_trearty's review

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2.5

I had high hopes going in to this book. Curated by Bernadine Evaristo who is amazing but I found this to be a confusing and poorly organised novel.

The topic was interesting and something that I had never read about before. But that is where the good things stop.

It felt very disjointed, I never got enough feel for any of the characters and the plot was a bit all over the place.

I have loved books that jump back and forward in time and was surprised that I could not get into the swing of this one.

At the end of the day I finished the book. It was ok. Disappointed.