Book - Birmingham Friends by Annie Murray

The covers of Annie Murray books are so deceptive. This is the third book I’ve read and poverty, loss and equality feature with war looming large. The most upsetting part of the storyline in Birmingham Friends is how deep it goes into life in a mental asylum, as it would have been in the 40s and 50s. The characters are always well explored and even here, with two prominent friends, we have a large supporting cast of their immediate families, their loves, colleagues and other friends.

All the synopsis I’ve seen since reading this talk less about Kate and Olivia, the two best friends and more about the daughter of Kate. Rest assured, almost the entire book is about their friendship and the families that have made them who they are;  two very different people. In fact, the final chapters could have been a novella but it’s a neat way of concluding the story.

I’ve spotted a theme in my reading. Having read Motherwell before this, next up I’m finally picking up Lemn Sissay’s My Name is Why. After that, I need to leave inequality behind and read something light.