The Global Stories Book Club with Laviya Cooke – September
House of Books & Friends are delighted to announce that we are hosting The Global Stories Book Club, facilitated by Laviya Cooke. Taking place on the first Wednesday of every month, The Global Stories Book Club is a space where the voices of people of colour are explored and celebrated. People of colour are welcome, as is anybody interested in stories from diverse perspectives.
This will be taking place Wednesday 2nd September at 6pm.
For our first meeting, we will be reading Jamaica Road by Lisa Smith. You have until the day of the meeting to read the book.
Tickets
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About the book
South London, 1981: Daphne is the only Black girl in her class. All she wants is to keep her head down, preferably in a book. The easiest way to survive is to go unnoticed.
Daphne’s attempts at invisibility are upended when a boy named Connie Small arrives from Jamaica. Connie is the opposite of small in every way: lanky, outgoing, and unapologetically himself. Daphne tries to keep her distance, but Connie is magnetic. As they navigate growing up in a volatile, rapidly changing city, their families become close, and their friendship begins to shift into something more complicated. But when Connie reveals that he is ‘nuh land’ – meaning he’s in England illegally – Daphne realises that she is dangerously entangled in Connie’s fragile home life. Soon, long-buried secrets in both families threaten to tear them apart permanently.
Spanning one tumultuous decade, Jamaica Road is an emotionally expansive debut novel about race and class, the family you’re born into, the family you choose and the limits of what true love can really conquer.
About Laviya
Laviya is the founder and facilitator of the Global Stories Book Club. A Mancunian native, Laviya has mixed Congolese heritage. In her current role at Arts Council England, she works in the North Combined Arts division, where she supports funding for ethnically diverse theatre makers. Previously, she worked in the Libraries Development Team at Arts Council. Before that, she went to Manchester Metropolitan University where she studied Criminology, and completed research projects with a special interest in library prison services and literacy of inmates. An avid reader, Laviya particularly enjoys Literary horror, Black Contemporary Fiction and fantasy. When she’s not got her nose in a book, you’ll find Laviya watching classic ‘80s teen movies, doing karaoke with her sisters, and going to the theatre.