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Missing
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Publication
Telegram Books (2008), 345 pages
Description
'Outstanding . . . tender, sexy and alarming.' - Jim Crace When Alfred White, patriarch of the White family, collapses at work, his wife, May, and their three disparate children find themselves confronting issues they would rather ignore. Maggie Gee skillfully weaves a narrative that reminds us that racism not only devastates the lives of its victims, but also those of its perpetrators. Maggie Gee is the first female chair of the Royal Society of Literature and lives in London.The White Family was shortlisted for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction and the IMPAC Award.The Flood was longlisted for the Orange Prize.
User reviews
LibraryThing member kidzdoc
Alfred White is nearing the end of his 50 year career as a park keeper in a fictional London neighborhood in which he has lived for his entire life. He and his wife May have three children: Darren, a famed but restless journalist with a quick temper; Shirley, who has irked her parents by marrying a
The neighborhood, once populated by white working class Britons, has now become home to immigrants from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and other parts of Europe. Alfred loathes these newcomers, even the noisy yellow "foreign" birds that have taken over the park, as they are not truly British, but he generally keeps his emotions and feelings in check. However Dirk, who worships his father and fully embraces his beliefs, views all nonwhites as threats, blames them for his personal failures, and hates them with a seething fury.
The White family is thrown into crisis when Alfred collapses while on duty. The family rallies around his sickbed, but deep wounds that have festered for years are brought into the open, which creates almost unbearable stress within each member. Dirk is the most deeply affected of all, as his grief over his father's illness is compounded by the realization that none of the rest of his family understands or cares about him. Fueled by rage, fear and hopelessness, he seeks to exact revenge on those whom he hates the most, the 'coloureds' that have made his life a living hell.
The White Family is a spectacular novel about a white working class family in a multicultural London that no longer seems to accept or appreciate them. The characters are richly portrayed, and this reader felt sympathy for even the most dislikable characters. I could hardly put this book down after the first 50 pages, and I won't soon forget these characters or Gee's wonderful narrative. Other than a slightly disappointing last few pages this book was nearly perfect, and this is easily one of my favorite novels of the year.
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black African and dating a black Briton of Jamaican descent after her husband's death; and Dirk, the youngest sibling, whose small size and smaller ambitions mark him as a failure compared to his brother.The neighborhood, once populated by white working class Britons, has now become home to immigrants from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and other parts of Europe. Alfred loathes these newcomers, even the noisy yellow "foreign" birds that have taken over the park, as they are not truly British, but he generally keeps his emotions and feelings in check. However Dirk, who worships his father and fully embraces his beliefs, views all nonwhites as threats, blames them for his personal failures, and hates them with a seething fury.
The White family is thrown into crisis when Alfred collapses while on duty. The family rallies around his sickbed, but deep wounds that have festered for years are brought into the open, which creates almost unbearable stress within each member. Dirk is the most deeply affected of all, as his grief over his father's illness is compounded by the realization that none of the rest of his family understands or cares about him. Fueled by rage, fear and hopelessness, he seeks to exact revenge on those whom he hates the most, the 'coloureds' that have made his life a living hell.
The White Family is a spectacular novel about a white working class family in a multicultural London that no longer seems to accept or appreciate them. The characters are richly portrayed, and this reader felt sympathy for even the most dislikable characters. I could hardly put this book down after the first 50 pages, and I won't soon forget these characters or Gee's wonderful narrative. Other than a slightly disappointing last few pages this book was nearly perfect, and this is easily one of my favorite novels of the year.
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LibraryThing member phebj
For the life of me, I can’t figure out why this book isn’t better known. It was shortlisted for the Orange Prize in 2002 but I just heard about it from another LTer (kidzdoc) two months ago. With the exception of not knowing what to think of the ending, this was an excellent book.
The White
The true genius of this book was the author’s ability to make the reader sympathetic to Alfred and Dirk. Alfred doesn’t get to explain himself right away so your initial impression of him is shaped by the mixed feelings his wife and children have of him. I was surprised to like him more than I thought when he finally gets to tell his own story. Dirk, on the other hand, is introduced in the beginning and it seemed like a roller coaster ride being in his presence. I was alternately repulsed by his violent nature and overpowered by the amount of emotional pain he suffered.
I was totally engaged by this book from the beginning and so the end was a disappointment to me. I felt like I was being ripped out of the characters’ lives and out of the story and the way everything was wrapped up felt wrong. Despite this, I still really care about these characters and want to know what happened to them so, although I’m deducting a ½ star for the ending, I would still highly recommend the book.
This book would make a great choice for a book club discussion. The main themes are racism, domestic violence and cultural diversity but homophobia, sibling rivalry and the social and economic changes in Britain in the last 60 years are also addressed. Reading and writing also play a role in the story and the following quote of James Baldwin is important to one of the characters: “Books taught me that the things that tormented me the most were the very things that connected me to everyone who was alive and who had ever been alive.” Ironically, it’s the white racist that I felt connected to in this book.
4 ½ stars and one of my favorite books for 2010.
The White
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Family is comprised of Alfred and May and their three grown children. Alfred has been a Park Keeper in London for decades and, at the beginning of the book, collapses on the job following a tense encounter with a young black family he believes are breaking park rules. As his family gathers at Alfred’s side in the hospital, they each tell their stories along with several family friends and a picture begins to emerge of what life is like for the Whites. While there is real affection between Alfred and May, their kids are mostly alienated from them and Alfred emerges as a bully and a racist. Even worse, his youngest son, Dirk, has embraced these traits with a vengence.The true genius of this book was the author’s ability to make the reader sympathetic to Alfred and Dirk. Alfred doesn’t get to explain himself right away so your initial impression of him is shaped by the mixed feelings his wife and children have of him. I was surprised to like him more than I thought when he finally gets to tell his own story. Dirk, on the other hand, is introduced in the beginning and it seemed like a roller coaster ride being in his presence. I was alternately repulsed by his violent nature and overpowered by the amount of emotional pain he suffered.
I was totally engaged by this book from the beginning and so the end was a disappointment to me. I felt like I was being ripped out of the characters’ lives and out of the story and the way everything was wrapped up felt wrong. Despite this, I still really care about these characters and want to know what happened to them so, although I’m deducting a ½ star for the ending, I would still highly recommend the book.
This book would make a great choice for a book club discussion. The main themes are racism, domestic violence and cultural diversity but homophobia, sibling rivalry and the social and economic changes in Britain in the last 60 years are also addressed. Reading and writing also play a role in the story and the following quote of James Baldwin is important to one of the characters: “Books taught me that the things that tormented me the most were the very things that connected me to everyone who was alive and who had ever been alive.” Ironically, it’s the white racist that I felt connected to in this book.
4 ½ stars and one of my favorite books for 2010.
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LibraryThing member brenzi
Alfred White, a man who has ruled his family with an iron fist, has been Albion Park’s park keeper for almost fifty years. During that time he has witnessed many changes in the neighborhood, but none scares him as much as the influx of foreigners and blacks. One day while on duty he suffers “an
I would not describe this as a “normal family,” but, unfortunately, a common family structure in the 20th century. Alfred’s manner of toughness and hatred in the way of bringing up his children leaves them with a void that is almost impossible to broach. Bringing together Shirley and her younger brother Dirk created a powder keg, sure to ignite. Darren’s psychologist wife wants him to “have it out” with his father, but when he finally does, his explosive temper prevents any good from coming from it. And finally, there is an incident that will change the family forever. Alfred, in the end, allows his sense of duty overcome his sense of family in order to do the right thing.
Maggie Gee has written an important novel, exposing the violence and hatred commonly found in cities all over the world where multi-cultural changes take place and the original inhabitants can’t acclimate themselves to the new “now.” I can’t say I actually found the characters of Alfred, Darren and Dirk likable, but I could certainly sympathize with them. And I was pleased in the end that Alfred did the right thing. Shirley was important as a character who bridged the gap between black and white.
I also liked the way Gee had a way of nostalgically looking back at the past, which were such happy times for May and Alfred, such as when May realized that her neighborhood was in decline:
“Almost trotting down the street, her blue coat clutched around her, she saw that more than half the shops were boarded up, or had their fronts covered with aluminum shutters, which rattled coldly in the winter winds. ‘To Let’, the boards said, hopefully, but no one new came except charity shops, and they already had three, full of wrong-coloured garments. So the boards got battered, and looked grimy, guilty, each one a confession of failure and emptiness. It was over, Hillesden Rise was over, over, and May found tears welling up again, and realized she was crying for herself and Alfred and the silly young couple they had once been.” (Page 100)
This book is not for the squeamish as it is a frank, honest, no holds barred look at racism and in telling her story, Gee uses vernacular that would be common to the streets of London. Nonetheless this is a book I found hard to put down and would highly recommend it.
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event’ and is admitted to the hospital. His stay brings his family to his bedside. They include May, his seemingly passive wife and mother who actually undermines Alfred’s brutish ways; oldest son and golden child, Darren, a journalist, flown in from the U.S. with his third wife; daughter Shirley, who has disappointed her father not once, but twice, first by marrying a black man and then, when she was widowed, by taking up with another black man; and youngest son Dirk, a skinhead, with a dead end job in a news shop, who seems to have inherited his father’s bigoted ways and carried them to an even further extreme.I would not describe this as a “normal family,” but, unfortunately, a common family structure in the 20th century. Alfred’s manner of toughness and hatred in the way of bringing up his children leaves them with a void that is almost impossible to broach. Bringing together Shirley and her younger brother Dirk created a powder keg, sure to ignite. Darren’s psychologist wife wants him to “have it out” with his father, but when he finally does, his explosive temper prevents any good from coming from it. And finally, there is an incident that will change the family forever. Alfred, in the end, allows his sense of duty overcome his sense of family in order to do the right thing.
Maggie Gee has written an important novel, exposing the violence and hatred commonly found in cities all over the world where multi-cultural changes take place and the original inhabitants can’t acclimate themselves to the new “now.” I can’t say I actually found the characters of Alfred, Darren and Dirk likable, but I could certainly sympathize with them. And I was pleased in the end that Alfred did the right thing. Shirley was important as a character who bridged the gap between black and white.
I also liked the way Gee had a way of nostalgically looking back at the past, which were such happy times for May and Alfred, such as when May realized that her neighborhood was in decline:
“Almost trotting down the street, her blue coat clutched around her, she saw that more than half the shops were boarded up, or had their fronts covered with aluminum shutters, which rattled coldly in the winter winds. ‘To Let’, the boards said, hopefully, but no one new came except charity shops, and they already had three, full of wrong-coloured garments. So the boards got battered, and looked grimy, guilty, each one a confession of failure and emptiness. It was over, Hillesden Rise was over, over, and May found tears welling up again, and realized she was crying for herself and Alfred and the silly young couple they had once been.” (Page 100)
This book is not for the squeamish as it is a frank, honest, no holds barred look at racism and in telling her story, Gee uses vernacular that would be common to the streets of London. Nonetheless this is a book I found hard to put down and would highly recommend it.
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LibraryThing member JanetinLondon
This is the story of an “ordinary” white working class family in northwest London in the second half of the 20th Century, and of the changes in their world during that period. As the book opens, Alfred, the father, has just suffered some sort of “event” – stroke, heart attack, not made
Alfred is an archetype – war veteran, hard working, loyal, uncomplaining, but also racist, homophobic, ultimately frustrated by his small life and unable to cope with change and difference. He sees himself as a “good” father and husband, but it is clear he has damaged and abused all his family members, both mentally and physically.
May, his wife, is also a “type” – married the first man who ever kissed her, kept the home, took care of the children, never interfered with Alfred’s approach to “discipline”, put up with a certain amount of abuse because, well, he worked so hard, didn’t he? She has, however, read a lot, and the indications are that she “could have made more of herself” if circumstances had permitted.
The three children are less “typical” (perhaps Gee thinks the next generation is less likely to be typical) but also, I thought, less realistic, and therefore less interesting. Each has responded to their restricted, bullied upbringing in different ways, none has really found happiness or fulfilment.
Most of the book is spent learning about these characters, plus a few friends and neighbors, as well as describing the park where Alfred works, a metaphor for London and the world. This was all great, and I waited eagerly to see how it would play out. Unfortunately, there’s a whole second story line to do with racism, ultimately leading to violence, which winds up providing the climax and denouement of the book, and which I didn’t like at all. For a start, these sections were less well written and less involving. Also, although they included most of the same characters, I thought the link was forced – yes, Alfred was a racist (never a violent one), yes, that lead to certain reactions by his children, ultimately leading to the main violent event, and yes, Alfred’s and May’s reactions to this are very interesting. But it was a separate story to the one of Alfred and May, their lives after the war and their difficulties with change. To keep the two in one book, the book needed to be longer, to give the second story more time to develop.
So, although there was some great writing in there, and some interesting insights, ultimately I was a bit disappointed.
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clear at first – in the park where he has been park keeper for 50 years. This crisis prompts him and the rest of the family – wife May and three grown children – to reflect on their lives and to revisit memories. They never do this together, but separately, internally, in different chapters. In fact, they hardly ever speak to each other at all. Gradually, we learn a lot about each of them, the events that have shaped their lives and the ways in which they have responded.Alfred is an archetype – war veteran, hard working, loyal, uncomplaining, but also racist, homophobic, ultimately frustrated by his small life and unable to cope with change and difference. He sees himself as a “good” father and husband, but it is clear he has damaged and abused all his family members, both mentally and physically.
May, his wife, is also a “type” – married the first man who ever kissed her, kept the home, took care of the children, never interfered with Alfred’s approach to “discipline”, put up with a certain amount of abuse because, well, he worked so hard, didn’t he? She has, however, read a lot, and the indications are that she “could have made more of herself” if circumstances had permitted.
The three children are less “typical” (perhaps Gee thinks the next generation is less likely to be typical) but also, I thought, less realistic, and therefore less interesting. Each has responded to their restricted, bullied upbringing in different ways, none has really found happiness or fulfilment.
Most of the book is spent learning about these characters, plus a few friends and neighbors, as well as describing the park where Alfred works, a metaphor for London and the world. This was all great, and I waited eagerly to see how it would play out. Unfortunately, there’s a whole second story line to do with racism, ultimately leading to violence, which winds up providing the climax and denouement of the book, and which I didn’t like at all. For a start, these sections were less well written and less involving. Also, although they included most of the same characters, I thought the link was forced – yes, Alfred was a racist (never a violent one), yes, that lead to certain reactions by his children, ultimately leading to the main violent event, and yes, Alfred’s and May’s reactions to this are very interesting. But it was a separate story to the one of Alfred and May, their lives after the war and their difficulties with change. To keep the two in one book, the book needed to be longer, to give the second story more time to develop.
So, although there was some great writing in there, and some interesting insights, ultimately I was a bit disappointed.
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LibraryThing member lauralkeet
Alfred White has had a long career as a London park keeper. His days are spent patrolling the park, monitoring its condition and making sure visitors adhere to park rules. Alfred is close to retirement, and has seen a lot of change over the years. He longs for the Britain of his youth, during and
One day Alfred collapses on the job and is hospitalized. His sudden weakness shocks his wife and adult children, who have grown accustomed to Alfred's firm, controlling hand. His adult children have all gone their separate ways, but are brought back into contact at Alfred's bedside. Darren is an established journalist living in the US, and is on his third marriage. Shirley is in a relationship with a black man, which caused a rift with her father. Dirk has been unable to establish an independent adult life, and lives at home while working in a corner shop. He has developed disturbing extremist political and racial views.
May, the wife and mother, held this crew together over the years. Like many women of her generation, her husband made all the decisions. When Alfred went into hospital, May found she couldn't even withdraw money from the bank on her own. But May is also strong inside, in her own way, and she has a suppressed intellect that remains an important part of her life:
She always liked to have a book in her bag. In case she got stuck. In case she got lost. Or did she feel lost without her books? There wasn't any point, but she liked to have one with her, a gentle weight nudging her shoulder, keeping her company through the wind, making her more solid, more substantial, less likely to be blown away, less alone. More -- a person. (p. 19)
Through short chapters narrated by different family members, Maggie Gee develops the White family's history and the nature of the parent-child and sibling relationships. Each of the children bear scars from their father's discipline and temper. Darren appears successful on the outside, but is deeply wounded inside. Shirley has been unable to have children, and struggles with issues of faith. Dirk is a ticking time bomb, prone to alcohol-infused bouts of temper as he acts out his resentment towards anyone better off than himself. Alfred and May, for all their flaws, have shared a long and loving marriage, and are likeable in their own ways.
This book is not for the faint of heart. There's a lot of sadness, as the entire family copes with Alfred's medical condition. May considers, for the first time, that Alfred may not always be there for her. Alfred struggles with weakness & infirmity. Each of the children relive their childhood and their relationship with Alfred, and rather than bond together each of them struggles individually. There are also many disturbing moments, particularly Gee's portrayal of racism and anti-immigrant sentiment. This would have been a 4.5-star book were it not for a too-tidy denouement about Shirley which struck me as both unrealistic and unnecessary. Still, this is a well-crafted story, with a strong emotional pull and an intense and startling climax.
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after World War II. He is especially upset by the influx of foreigners, changing the ethnic mix of his London neighborhood and, consequently, the park visitors.One day Alfred collapses on the job and is hospitalized. His sudden weakness shocks his wife and adult children, who have grown accustomed to Alfred's firm, controlling hand. His adult children have all gone their separate ways, but are brought back into contact at Alfred's bedside. Darren is an established journalist living in the US, and is on his third marriage. Shirley is in a relationship with a black man, which caused a rift with her father. Dirk has been unable to establish an independent adult life, and lives at home while working in a corner shop. He has developed disturbing extremist political and racial views.
May, the wife and mother, held this crew together over the years. Like many women of her generation, her husband made all the decisions. When Alfred went into hospital, May found she couldn't even withdraw money from the bank on her own. But May is also strong inside, in her own way, and she has a suppressed intellect that remains an important part of her life:
She always liked to have a book in her bag. In case she got stuck. In case she got lost. Or did she feel lost without her books? There wasn't any point, but she liked to have one with her, a gentle weight nudging her shoulder, keeping her company through the wind, making her more solid, more substantial, less likely to be blown away, less alone. More -- a person. (p. 19)
Through short chapters narrated by different family members, Maggie Gee develops the White family's history and the nature of the parent-child and sibling relationships. Each of the children bear scars from their father's discipline and temper. Darren appears successful on the outside, but is deeply wounded inside. Shirley has been unable to have children, and struggles with issues of faith. Dirk is a ticking time bomb, prone to alcohol-infused bouts of temper as he acts out his resentment towards anyone better off than himself. Alfred and May, for all their flaws, have shared a long and loving marriage, and are likeable in their own ways.
This book is not for the faint of heart. There's a lot of sadness, as the entire family copes with Alfred's medical condition. May considers, for the first time, that Alfred may not always be there for her. Alfred struggles with weakness & infirmity. Each of the children relive their childhood and their relationship with Alfred, and rather than bond together each of them struggles individually. There are also many disturbing moments, particularly Gee's portrayal of racism and anti-immigrant sentiment. This would have been a 4.5-star book were it not for a too-tidy denouement about Shirley which struck me as both unrealistic and unnecessary. Still, this is a well-crafted story, with a strong emotional pull and an intense and startling climax.
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LibraryThing member saligo
I loved this book - it described sensitively and with understanding a decent working class white family in london coping with societal change - the growth of multicultural london, the disintegration of certain old standards and traditions of respect for public service. It shows how different
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members of the family react differently with some feeling alienated and disenfranchised and turning to racism and others maintaiing a basic humanity.. Show Less
LibraryThing member SalemAthenaeum
This ambitious, groundbreaking novel takes on the taboo subject of racial hatred as it looks for the roots of violence within the family and within British society. The Whites are an ordinary British family. Alfred White, a London park keeper, still rules his home with fierce conviction and
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inarticulate tenderness. May, his clever, passive wife loves Alfred but conspires against him. Their three children are no longer close; the elder son has left for America and the youngest son is a virulent racist. The daughter is involved in an interracial relationship with a black social worker. When the father’s sudden illlness forces the children to come together, their deep fears and prejudices come to the surface, raising issues about kinship, trust, and hatred. Maggie Gee expertly illustrates the tensions and prevailing social problems of modern day England in this fascinating novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member pdebolt
This is the story of the White family. Alfred, the father, is a bigoted tyrant in his home and a long-time, proud London park keeper who abides by all the rules. May, his wife of many years, is devoted to Alfred and never interfered with his brutal treatment of their three children, who are now all
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grown and carrying the emotional scars he inflicted. When Alfred is facing death, he seems to regret the damage he inflicted on his children, and we are left to wonder how different their lives would have been had he rectified his rigidity sooner. This is a difficult novel to read because it reveals the ugliest side of human nature and people who despise anyone who differs from them. Shirley, the only White daughter, is perhaps the most likeable character in this narrow-minded, shallow family. Show Less
LibraryThing member jayne_charles
This book focuses on a single family to examine attitudes to race and homosexuality in society. There are dramatic events, but these take a back seat to the examination of individual attitudes and motivations. It felt odd to have such polarised attitudes within a single family, but on an individual
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basis the characters felt real. In particular the patriarch – Alfred the park-keeper - rang true. Park keepers come from a bygone era and I don’t think I’ve ever encountered one, yet I could picture him in his coat, berating people for walking on the grass. Powerful writing, a cerebral rather than an edge-of-the-seat experience. Show Less
Awards
Women's Prize for Fiction (Longlist — 2002)
Dublin Literary Award (Shortlist — 2004)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2002
Physical description
414 p.; 6.1 inches
ISBN
1846590434 / 9781846590436
Similar in this library
DDC/MDS
| 823.914 |