Mary Picken's Reviews > White City

Set in 1950’s London, a place of devastation, still lying in ruins after the bombings of the war. Families have been left homeless, loved ones have been lost and poverty is rife. Addie and Ness are sisters; their mother Stevie not coping well at all. Addie’s father says he’s working nights, but Addie isn’t so sure and when he doesn’t come home, the whole family is left in penury and Stevie takes to drink in a big way.

This is a story of grim times and the richness of the descriptions bring a vivid evocation of the times. Brutal, harsh, full of racism, the criminals and the thugs come together to unleash a new onslaught of violence in slum ridden London. The language will make you cringe but Nolan tells it as it was in his version of what happened in the aftermath of the biggest unsolved case London has seen to date.

A post office van has been held up and robbed in the middle of the night in a violent attack. The van contained many valuable mail bags and the police have no clues. White City tells the story of what happened after that robbery and the impact that it had on those affected.

This brutal robbery was the brainchild of Billy Hill, head of the local crime family. Teddy ‘Mother’, Nunn is his enforcer. Mother is terrifying; there is nothing and no-one he will not sacrifice in order to get the job done and his clean up method is certainly final. No-one will so much as look at him sideways, lest they feel the brunt of his anger. Dave Lander is ex-forces and knows his way around a gun. Now he is up to his neck in the gangster way of life. Dave is caught between a rock and a hard place. He may want out, but he knows there is no way out of this gang for him and so he must be sure to do Mother’s bidding just to keep himself in favour.

Together with Dave Lander and Addie, we meet Claire and her sons Ray and Joe. Claire’s husband is also missing and she fears for her sons growing up in the heart of gangland London. Encompassing the meeting of gangsters and the posh clubbers of seedy Soho to the slums of Notting Dale and Brixton, Nolan has painted a wide canvas on which to roll out his often grotesque characters. His story follows the fate of the key characters and their families through the period from 1952 to 1958, culminating in the Notting Hill riots of that summer when so many West Indians were brutally attacked.

Linked by poverty, slum dwelling and crime, we follow these fractured families alongside the corrupt and the violent as the police and the gangsters more often than not collude and occasionally collide.

Dominic Nolan’s language vibrates with authenticity though the colloquial racism is hard to hear. The pent-up nature of the frustration and violence almost makes the pages crackle.

In Soho it’s all two piece suits for two bit hoods and the glitterati partying to excess while mingling with the well kitted out gangstas. Nolan contrasts that behaviour with the very real problems of poverty, with families in hock to loan sharks; forced into crime or degradation to survive. He draws his characters so vibrantly and when there is a small slice of compassion or kindness, it shines fleetingly like a beacon of light in a quagmire before it is rapidly extinguished. In this remarkable book there is betrayal and there is love. There are tender moments to touch your heart, and there is redemption.

Verdict: Dominic Nolan reflects 1950’s London; full of dark shadows and forbidden places, claustrophobic and menacing. This is a version of London where angels tread with trepidation. White City is a tour -de-force, combining strong characters with writing that excels. Nolan is a master wordsmith and he writes with razor-sharp clarity and precision, bringing scenes and characters to life. I really can’t recommend this book too highly. Go buy it now.