I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.


It's not often you find a nice, satirical novel dealing with the complexities of modern life. This book provides just that. Ms Lewycka gives us insight on what life in modern London is like when you're just a normal person struggling between unemployment, health issues, an overly-complex love life... and of course, your everyday benefit fraud. When Berthold's mother dies, he is forced to take Inna, a complete stranger met at the hospital, home with him to impersonate his mother until he can transfer the tenancy of the small council house in his name. But Inna, with her eccentricites, Ukranian food and broken English might be just what Berthold needed to jump start his life again.

This book was really interesting in many respects. I enjoyed taking a look at Berthold's life and that of the people who shared his same situation. This book can boast an impressive cast of colourful characters, each more bizarre than the last, and they were truly a joy to read about. Inna in particular was a favourite of mine, with her weird view of the world and her adorably funny way of speaking. And while I have to admit I wasn't a big fan of Berthold's at the beginning (and throughout most of the book), he did kind of grow on me by the end, and I was happy to see him change so radically throughout. I also enjoyed Violet's storyline - the young, Kenyan girl who tries to make it and the big city, but soon has to decide between her integrity and her job. She is a tough character, trying hard to find herself and her path in the midst of chaos and definitely very admirable.

On the whole, this was a very enjoyable read. The only thing that disappointed me a little were actually my expectations of it: it was pitched as "hilarious", so I was expecting a lot more humor than I actually found in it. Sure, I smiled through most of it, but I never found it laugh-out-loud funny. Now this may totally be me not getting it, but it still left me slightly dissatisfied exactly because I was expecting a different thing. But if you like a good satire, it's definitely worth a read! ( )

Interesting read. Love the entanglement, but easy to follow sun plots ( )

45/2020. Enjoyed this bleakly comic novel until the chapter with a sudden graphic accident, told in the first person, which happened to hit one of my personal squicks. I skipped past the remainder of the accident scene and the hospital chapter, which has a couple of important plot developments in it, but I finished the book.

"Putin got popular because he stop Netto in knickers of time. Same like Mr Jeff Kennedy got popular because he stop Russia in Cuba wit Bay of Pork..." ( )

I can’t remember why I requested The Lubetkin Legacy for review, I have a feeling it was to satisfy a challenge. Whatever the reason, I’m glad I did, mostly.

The Lubetkin Legacy is a quirky, rather rambling novel which centres on two characters who live in a social housing block of flats in North London named Mandelay Court.

Berthold Sidebottom has lived in the top floor apartment with his mother, for most of his life. Named after the building’s architect, Berthold Lubetkin, with whom his mother claimed to have an affair, he is In his mid fifties, bald, divorced, and an unemployed actor. When his mother, Lily Lukashenko, dies unexpectedly, Berthold is worried that the council will repossess the flat, and so he invites the elderly Ukrainian widow who shared his mother’s hospital room to live with him and pretend to be his mother, until he can arrange for the transfer of possession.

Violet, Kenyan-born, but mostly raised in England, moves into the apartment next door to Berthold. Barely into her twenties, she is excited to start her first job in a city firm, having recently graduated university, but it quickly begins to lose its shine when she learns of her employers shady financial dealings.

The two characters are only loosely connected, Berthold spends a disturbing amount of time lusting after Violet, who is half his age and barely aware of his existence. In fact the connection is so limited, and Violet’s story so disparate, I don’t think it had a place in this novel at all. Berthold, and his mother substitute, Inna, would have been enough to carry the story.

Though to be honest I struggled with Berthold’s character. He is a bit of a sad sack, fairly useless with the practical, prone to randomly spouting Shakespeare, insulting George Clooney, and often behaves like a sex-starved creep. He is a pitiable figure of a man really, but does occasionally provoke some sympathy. I loved Inna though, her eccentric use of the English language (it’s her fourth, maybe fifth, language) is hilarious.

Despite the farcical presentation of this novel, the main themes of the novel are socio-political, taking aim at the UK’s policy of austerity, privatisation of social housing, the introduction of the bedroom tax, the consequences of the employment scheme, the disintegration of community, and on a larger scale, the misuse of tax havens, greed, exploitation, and corruption.

I liked this, mostly. Despite its many flaws, The Lubetkin Legacy is entertaining and has some important points to make about the failures of social policy. ( )

Berthold Sidebottom is a middle-aged failed actor living with his mother in a large council flat in a North London block designed by Berthold Lubetkin. However when his mother dies Berthold is in danger of losing the tenancy and comes up with a radical plan, inviting a casual acquaintance of his mother's, Inna, into the flat. Inna is Ukrainian and takes over Berthold's life. Meanwhile, in the next door flat, Kenyan Violet is struggling with the morals of her job working in Wealth Management. When the Council decides to redevelop the grounds around the block of flats the residents are drawn together to save the legacy of Lubetkin's vision.

As with all Lewycka's books the superficial comedy can be stripped away to reveal serious social issues. Here there are many, the common themes of immigration and corruption are explored from many perspectives. Inna is a comic character with a tragic backstory, Berthold is a failure who sees a renaissance and Violet realises her values are more important than success and money. Whilst Berthold's mother only appears at the start of the story she is a huge influence on all. Beautifully written, entertaining but also thought provoking, I really loved this book. ( )