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A review by erebus53
The Prince Rupert Hotel for the Homeless: A True Story of Love and Compassion Amid a Pandemic by Christina Lamb
3.0
Review for the Audiobook edition (not listed on Goodreads at time of review)
ISBN 9780008487577 ; Published by HarperCollins Publishers - William Collins, 09 June 2022
Read by Harriet Dunlop
This was definitely a Lockdown Book with a twist. I was holding my breath when I started out because I couldn't tell what the tone was going to be - the title lays it all out, except for the delivery.
As someone who has been homeless and has socialized with homeless people (if only for weeks rather than years) I was really concerned that this would be condescending and come from a cultural perspective that rubbed me the wrong way, but in the end it was even handed. It is delivered in a biographical yet magazine style; anecdotes are flavoured with quotes and recollections of the people involved, interspersed with background on sociopolitical, economic and historical contexts. We learn a bit about the history of the hotel and its neighbours, and the history of Shrewsbury; we learn a little about the decisions made by politicians, and it is delivered in a factual, rather than emotive way.
The book tells the story of the people involved, in a way that means the author takes a back seat. We get a RealityTV / fly-on-the-wall insight with a personable Brit Doco feel. It left me feeling like the whole recounting was journalistic.. but I'm conflicted about the practice of faithfully recounting people's, lives, stories, confidences, traumatic incidents, meltdowns, medical histories, vulnerable moments, conflict and anger, "bad decisions", inebriation, squalor, hope... Is it important historical record; or helping to educate common folk and help them understand the lives of the homeless; or making money off the most vulnerable people in society?
It took a while for me to get into the book but I'll admit I have been a little busy of late. The book was not an onerous read, but I'm glad that I was listening to the audiobook so could catch up with some sewing repairs at the same time. My only real quibble with the style of the book was editorial. At times the information about the people was repeated. Early in the book someone would be introduced and a few things said about them, and later there would be an entire anecdote fleshing out why and how those things effected them.. but the anecdote was presented as though it were completely new information rather than being linked to what was previously imparted. A simple, "when (x) first arrived they had said things were hard because... it all came out over coffee one night....." or something, to link it to what we had already been given? At times I felt like I had skipped back and was re-reading earlier parts.
I guess I'm probably not the target audience for this book. There were no grand revelations for me, but it was an ok piece of modern journalism, and an interesting record of a unique slice of life.
ISBN 9780008487577 ; Published by HarperCollins Publishers - William Collins, 09 June 2022
Read by Harriet Dunlop
This was definitely a Lockdown Book with a twist. I was holding my breath when I started out because I couldn't tell what the tone was going to be - the title lays it all out, except for the delivery.
As someone who has been homeless and has socialized with homeless people (if only for weeks rather than years) I was really concerned that this would be condescending and come from a cultural perspective that rubbed me the wrong way, but in the end it was even handed. It is delivered in a biographical yet magazine style; anecdotes are flavoured with quotes and recollections of the people involved, interspersed with background on sociopolitical, economic and historical contexts. We learn a bit about the history of the hotel and its neighbours, and the history of Shrewsbury; we learn a little about the decisions made by politicians, and it is delivered in a factual, rather than emotive way.
The book tells the story of the people involved, in a way that means the author takes a back seat. We get a RealityTV / fly-on-the-wall insight with a personable Brit Doco feel. It left me feeling like the whole recounting was journalistic.. but I'm conflicted about the practice of faithfully recounting people's, lives, stories, confidences, traumatic incidents, meltdowns, medical histories, vulnerable moments, conflict and anger, "bad decisions", inebriation, squalor, hope... Is it important historical record; or helping to educate common folk and help them understand the lives of the homeless; or making money off the most vulnerable people in society?
It took a while for me to get into the book but I'll admit I have been a little busy of late. The book was not an onerous read, but I'm glad that I was listening to the audiobook so could catch up with some sewing repairs at the same time. My only real quibble with the style of the book was editorial. At times the information about the people was repeated. Early in the book someone would be introduced and a few things said about them, and later there would be an entire anecdote fleshing out why and how those things effected them.. but the anecdote was presented as though it were completely new information rather than being linked to what was previously imparted. A simple, "when (x) first arrived they had said things were hard because... it all came out over coffee one night....." or something, to link it to what we had already been given? At times I felt like I had skipped back and was re-reading earlier parts.
I guess I'm probably not the target audience for this book. There were no grand revelations for me, but it was an ok piece of modern journalism, and an interesting record of a unique slice of life.