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Black British
Black British | Hebe de Souza
3 posts | 1 read | 10 to read
A sharply funny yet poignant story about a courageous girl growing up in 1960s North India, from an exciting new voice in Australian fiction. In the turbulent years that follow the British Empires collapse in India, rebellious and inquisitive Lucy de Souza is born into an affluent Indian family that once prospered under the Raj. Known as Black British because of their English language and customs, when the British deserted India Lucys family was left behind, strangers in their own land. Now living isolated from the hostile locals who see her family as remnants of an oppressive regime, a young Lucy grows up in the confines of their grand yet ramshackle home located in the dry, dispirited plains of Kanpur. But when it is time to start her education, Lucy finds herself angry and alone, struggling to find her place in this gentle country ravaged by poverty and hardship, surrounded by girls who look like her but dont speak her language. Encouraged by her strong-minded mother and two older sisters, as she matures the ever-feisty Lucy begins to question the injustices around her, before facing a decision that will change the course of her life forever. A richly visceral and stunning debut, based on the authors own childhood, Black British is an unflinching and beautiful narrative about feminism, family and the search for identity.
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Sue
Black British | Hebe de Souza
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I got to meet the delightful Hebe de Souza today and hear here talk about her book. It's a great read and really opened my eyes to an experience I wasn't aware of (an Indian family so Anglicised by English rule that it becomes untenable for them to stay once the English have left.)

BrainyHeroine How amazing it must have been! 8y
Sue @BrainyHeroine Not all writers are great at speaking but Hebe is effusive and passionate. It was a small crowd and I think I was the only one who had read the book already, so I chatted to her about it for a good 10 minutes afterwards and about her experience in Australia. 8y
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Sue
Black British | Hebe de Souza
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Ain't that the truth

62 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Sue
Black British | Hebe de Souza
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☹️

50 likes2 stack adds