Genre: Travel Memoir
Description:
“Squatters. Dirty disheveled hippies lazing about smoking dope while
occupying other people's properties? Maybe. Maybe not.
Told from a former squatter's perspective, this insightful, compelling
narrative digs deeper into the squatting subculture of 1970s London by exposing
the myths, while at the same time acknowledging the truth behind the
stereotype.
When her traveling companion’s dad dies, the young woman from the
Canadian prairie is thrust into traveling solo across the pond to England. She
immediately falls in love with London but with only a three-week ticket and
limited funds, she needs a strategic plan to extend her adventure. And she must
do so in a turbulent environment of critical housing shortages, a tanking
British economy, multiple social protests and unpredictable Irish Republican
Army activities.
This is one woman’s story of how she handled these socioeconomic
issues, all while combating culture shock, to achieve her goal.”
Author:
“Irene Pylypec, a sufferer of Peter Pan Syndrome, lives in Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan aka ‘Paris of the Prairies’. A self-professed daydreamer and
adventurer, she backpacked solo throughout England, Scotland and Ireland in the
mid-seventies, where she caught the travel bug. Her passion for travel took her
on numerous adventures to such diverse countries as Soviet Ukraine, England,
Hong Kong and Mexico.”
Appraisal:
Memoirs appeal to me because they allow you to view the world and the
situations another person experiences from a different point of view, helping
you to understand what life is like for someone else in a better way. Travel
memoirs allow you to vicariously experience someone else’s travels, getting an
idea of what a place where you’ve never been is like or, if you’ve visited that
place, comparing your experience to what the author of the travel memoir
experienced and hopefully understand the place more thoroughly.
A Squatter in London goes the typical travel memoir one better. I’m
tempted to call it a “Time Traveler Memoir” because it takes place in a
distinct time (the 1970s) as well as a distinct place (London, England) and a specific
subculture in that time and place. Something I wasn’t aware existed at the time
or really until I read this book. I found it interesting, both understanding
and following along as the author figured things out, but also contrasting her
experiences to what I know (or think I know) of London and other comparable
cities and subcultures. If this kind of thing appeals to you, I think you’ll
find this an enjoyable and eye-opening read. I did.
FYI:
Uses Canadian spelling conventions.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: ****
Four Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
Approximate
word count: 60-65,000 words
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