Tring Book Club - This Boy by Alan Johnson

Thanks to Linda whose choice it was for Book Club. Very rarely do we read a memoir or biography. This book brought back so many memories of my childhood in London in the 1950's. Alan Johnson lived not far away in another part of Kensington, so our paths may have crossed at some point. Although we lived in a cold and draughty flat above a shop on the border with Hammersmith, our life was not as nearly as hard as Alan's. His mother Lily actually came from a good family, she was an intelligent woman and her genes had filtered down to Alan and his elder sister Linda. It was his father who let them down. There is one person who shines through this memoir. As the dedication at the beginning says "For Linda, who kept me safe".