The Bricks That Built the Houses

The Bricks That Built the Houses
ISBN: 9781408857311
Publication Date: 1 April 2016

Award-winning poet and rapper Kate Tempest's astonishing debut novel elevates the ordinary to the extraordinary in this multi -generational tale set in contemporary south London.

Young Londoners Becky, Harry and Leon are escaping the city with a suitcase full of stolen money. Taking us back in time, and into the heart of the capital, The Bricks that Built the Houses explores a cross-section of contemporary urban life with a powerful moral and literary microscope, exposing the everyday stories that lie behind the tired faces on the morning commute, and what happens when your best intentions don't always lead to the right decisions.

Wise but never cynical, and driven by empathy and ethics, it leads us into the homes and hearts of ordinary people and their families and communities, giving us a unique perspective on how we live with and love each other.

The Bricks that Built the Houses introduces a thrilling new literary voice.

Caroline Baum's Review

Was there ever a more perfect name than Kate Tempest It's beautiful and stormy and kind of Shakespearean. So fitting for this great new voice, boldly harnessing poetry and imagery in prose that vibrates and shimmers with energy. Not that Tempest is an unknown quantity: she's the youngest poet ever to be awarded the prestigious Ted Hughes prize at the ludicrous age of 24, and she's already well known as a hip hop artist and rapper. In her performances, which are hypnotically compelling, she references classic tales of antiquity to talk about her generation.

A South London girl, she's translated the uniqueness of her performing style to the page; her way of writing in phrases and cadences that mimic and riff off the people and the places she knows so well, in a way that might remind reade...