A fascinating outsider's look at the British underclass and the Welfare State in the 1960s, no less relevant today than it would have been when published. Of particular interest will be the state's insistence that Adah give up work.

I used to live in a working class area. I had been built post war as a slum clearance area. It was a bit of a shock. When I met my neighbour I was polite to him. He took it as a sign of weakness. First he went to the council and tried to get me evicted. When that didn't work he tried to break into my home and attack me. The police had to come. Interesting to see a similar pattern in Adah's confrontation with the Smalls. It must be a cultural thing.

A couple of small flaws: there are some wonky sentences and the dialogue is stilted. As she points out though, English is her second language. This didn't even occur to me when reading The Joys of Motherhood, by which time she had achieved complete mastery of her tool.

Small quibbles though. She orders her material well and knows how to tell a story. ( )