Description

Book Synopsis

A powerful prescient memoir of life in 1970s Britain for a child of Windrush generation parents.

''This book is a classic'' Sunday Telegraph


To his fellow West Indians who assemble every weekend for the all-night poker game at Mrs Knight''s, he is always known as Bageye. There aren''t very many black men in Luton in 1972 and most of them gather there: Summer Wear, Pioneer, Anxious, Tidy Boots - each has his nickname. Bageye already finds it a struggle to feed his family on his wage from Vauxhall Motors, but now his wife Blossom has set her heart on her sons going to private school and she will not settle for anything less.

This is the story of a father seen through the eyes of his ten-year-old son. It's a wry and gentle comedy about unfulfilling day jobs and late night po

Trade Review
I loved every word * Independent *
[A] vivid and bittersweet window into a vanished world of 1970s suburbia * Metro *
A quietly unforgettable book * Guardian *
A fabulous example of storytelling * Glasgow Herald *
A classic * Spectator *

Bageye at the Wheel

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    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Mon 22 Jun 2026.

    A Paperback / softback by Colin Grant

    1 in stock

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      View other formats and editions of Bageye at the Wheel by Colin Grant

      Publisher: Vintage Publishing
      Publication Date: 04/04/2013
      ISBN13: 9780099552390, 978-0099552390
      ISBN10: 0099552396

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      A powerful prescient memoir of life in 1970s Britain for a child of Windrush generation parents.

      ''This book is a classic'' Sunday Telegraph


      To his fellow West Indians who assemble every weekend for the all-night poker game at Mrs Knight''s, he is always known as Bageye. There aren''t very many black men in Luton in 1972 and most of them gather there: Summer Wear, Pioneer, Anxious, Tidy Boots - each has his nickname. Bageye already finds it a struggle to feed his family on his wage from Vauxhall Motors, but now his wife Blossom has set her heart on her sons going to private school and she will not settle for anything less.

      This is the story of a father seen through the eyes of his ten-year-old son. It's a wry and gentle comedy about unfulfilling day jobs and late night po

      Trade Review
      I loved every word * Independent *
      [A] vivid and bittersweet window into a vanished world of 1970s suburbia * Metro *
      A quietly unforgettable book * Guardian *
      A fabulous example of storytelling * Glasgow Herald *
      A classic * Spectator *

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