Another half-random charity shop purchase… Had heard positive things about John Lancaster and Capital was right there, waiting to be bought.
It’s a story that weaves together the very different lives of a few London inhabitants, who all have a connection to the same residential street. The long running intrigue concerns postcards dropped through every letterbox with the phrase We Want What You Have.
The title plays on its double meaning by setting the tale in London against the backdrop of the 2008 financial crisis. The set of characters – an Indian family running the corner newsagent; a city worker, his wife, and their nanny; a Polish builder; an elderly dying lady, her daughter, and the artist grandson; an illegal immigrant working as a traffic warden – provide a basis for ranging social and political angles which combine into a neat commentary on 2000s Britain. Both the light and the dark are covered, with personal insights into grief, poverty, racism, class, aging, money, ambition, and love.
The short, pacy chapters bouncing between characters as their stories gradually entwine makes for an easy and enjoyable read, and the different internal monologues are well crafted. I’ll look out for more of Lancaster’s books.
