The second section is more satisfying, as Owolade draws on his personal experiences and those of others to craft a nuanced, compassionate and surprisingly optimistic view of race relations in Britain. A man recalls a past love as he strolls through the lonely streets of Barcelona. A hitchhiker on the outskirts of the city of Vic carries his secrets in a briefcase. In northern Catalonia, a villager receives letters from a long-estranged brother and grapples with how to respond. Then there’s the man who wants to surprise his wife with a trip to Paris, only to swap it for a solitary cruise. Chosen as a non-fiction highlight of 2023 in The Times, Guardian, Observer, Irish Times and New Statesman***

This Is Not America: Stories - AbeBooks 9781982104719: This Is Not America: Stories - AbeBooks

Grove Press An imprint of Grove Atlantic, an American independent publisher, who publish in the UK through Atlantic Books.

Jordi Puntí is not only Catalonia's most important writer, but he is also one of the funniest, most perceptive writers in all of Europe. This Is Not America is a tour-de-force story collection set on both sides of the Atlantic." — Gary Shteyngart Neil Parish is the Tory who was caught watching porn in the Commons. Now he stars in Channel 4’s Banged Up MyHome.ie (Opens in new window) • Top 1000 • The Gloss (Opens in new window) • Recruit Ireland (Opens in new window) • Irish Times Training (Opens in new window)

This is Not America: Why Black Lives in Britain Matter This is Not America: Why Black Lives in Britain Matter

With the election of George W. Bush, the song’s title was irresistible, and it was soon used for blunt ends: P. Diddy, shaken out of his torpor to record a pissed-off rap, “American Dream,” for the film Training Day, sampled “This Is Not America,” with Bowie providing new vocals. The best of the latter-day covers was Charlie Haden’s, who in 2005 made “This Is Not America” a romp, a joyous collaboration that seems set out to disprove the song’s title: Haden’s version is America on one of its better, chaotic days. Nicola Sturgeon has insisted she has “nothing to hide” but repeatedly refused to say whether she deleted messages sought by the UK Covid inquiry. The former first minister was challenged over reports that she destroyed communications that have been requested by the investigation. The Scottish... Nicola Sturgeon has insisted she has “nothing to hide” but repeatedly refused to say whether she deleted messages sought by the UK Covid inquiry. The former first minister was challenged over reports that she destroyed communications that have been requested by the investigation. The Scottish... Nicola Sturgeon has insisted she has “nothing to hide” but repeatedly refused to say whether she deleted messages sought by the...

Owolade’s book is a timely exploration of difficult questions. Proudly unorthodox, sometimes provocative, it has the merit of engaging even when it enrages. The term cultural cringe makes an early appearance in Tomiwa Owolade’s This Is Not America. Coined by the Australian critic AA Phillips to express the fawning relationship of some of his fellow citizens to traditional British culture, Owolade believes it applies to the attitudes of many contemporary Britons towards the US. America is often accepted as the primary shaper of truths. Its landscapes, myths and histories can seem closer to us than our own. Like it or not, we’re all, to some degree, in its thrall. Searing short stories... Puntí is unafraid to explore the uncomfortable rifts of his characters' lives, particularly the lies they tell themselves to embolden or confront their justifications of their situations." -- Booklist