Changes

The location of the book is a rundown London suburb (which sounds to me like Shepherds Bush). There are excellent depictions of conflict between middle class house owners keen to gentrify the area and housing association tenants exhibiting some anti-social behaviour. The grim descriptions of the seedy metropolis are realistic which gives an edgy backdrop to the plot. There are graphic images of tower blocks with ‘’stinking lifts’’ ''stinking lifts'' and poorly lit stairwells. The author is poetic in her portrayal of the harsh street life, ‘’ '' the tall buildings, like needles on a sun dial, had cast sharp cold shadows on the waking streets’’streets''. The urban scene is ‘’concrete ''concrete and tarmac, lined with halal takeaway shops, cash converters, pound stores and Tesco Metros’’Metros''. The weather too, seems to reflect the depressing lives of the people who live in the squalid houses. They are ‘’blasted ''blasted by the wind’’ wind'' while ‘’bitter ''bitter winds hurtle across the roof’’roof''.