For a topical read that packs a punch, this is an angry and unapologetic first novel from the prize-winning short-story writer Lisa Blower.
Set over five days of the May 2010 General Election, the novel focuses on the Minton family from “Smoke-on-Trent” (Blower’s hometown).
The characters, once part of the local pottery industry, now fight for survival. The book’s chapters are renamed “Rounds”.
Constance Minton is clinging on to the council house she has lived in for 73 years, while her wayward son Totty rails against everyone around him, including social workers, the job centre, and the ex-wife who is trying to get their two kids back.
Much of the book’s political bite is directed at the Conservatives’ housing policies – including the “bedroom tax” and the mass sell-off of social housing to private landlords, who then convert streets of “houses” into broken bedsits.
Sitting Ducks rejects the logic of aspiration and right-to-buy. “If you’re not angry, you’re not listening” says the novel’s strapline.
