Suburbs are hybrid places that attempt to combine the best features of cities and villages, and seldom succeed perfectly. From our summer reads collection
T IS OFTEN
said that the world is urbanising, but that is not exactly right. To be more precise, the world is suburbanising. In poor countries, population growth is fastest on the fringes of cities. In rich countries most people already live in suburbs. These hybrid places attempt to combine the best features of cities and villages, and seldom succeed perfectly. They have inspired some wonderful novels and non-fiction books.A classic work of participant observation, first published in 1967.
Thirteen decades after it was published, this is still one of the funniest books about England. It is set in Holloway, which was a suburb of London in the late 19th century and is now an inner-city district. The diarist is Mr Pooter, a bank clerk who attempts to maintain a dignified, respectable air in the most trying circumstances. Tradesmen are rude to him, his son becomes a bohemian, and his attempts at home decoration end badly.
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