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The Corner Shop

On sale

18th April 2019

Price: £9.99

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Selected: ebook / ISBN-13: 9781473673243

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A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK
‘Nuanced, human and engaging’ Nikesh Shukla, Observer
‘Full of life, characters, gossip and all the richness of the local community’ Sir David Jason
‘A delightful story of growing up “above the shop”‘ Nigel Slater, Observer
‘Cleverly links her own memories of shop-bound life with the last 50 years of British history’ Spectator

‘I come from a hidden world: I am the daughter of shopkeepers. I’ve seen you on a Sunday morning, nipping out to get a pint of milk or to grab a newspaper. I came to know a lot about you; whether your politics leaned to the right or left, whether you were gay or straight, and whether you were plagued by cash-flow problems or had enough disposable income to indulge your penchant for Cadbury’s Creme Eggs.’

Babita Sharma was raised in a corner shop in Reading, and over the counter watched a changing world, from the clientele to the products to the politics of the day. Along with the skills to mop a floor perfectly and stack a shelf, she gained a unique insight into a shifting landscape – and an institution that, despite the creep of supermarkets, online shopping and delivery, has found a way to evolve and survive – and is now once again keeping us all going.

From the general stores of the first half of the 20th century (one of which was run by the father of a certain Margaret Thatcher), to the reimagined corner shops run by immigrants from India, East Africa and Eastern Europe from the 60s to the noughties, the corner shop has shaped the way we shop, the way we eat, and the way we understand ourselves.

WINNER OF THE BUSINESS BOOK AWARD FOR AN EXCEPTIONAL BOOK THAT PROMOTES DIVERSITY

‘A triumph’ Radio Times
‘A compelling, full selection box of a story’ Sanjeev Kohli
‘One of the best books I’ve read on the immigrant experience in this country’ Daily Mail
‘I loved it cover to cover’ Angela Clutton, author of The Vinegar Cupboard


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Reviews

Sir David Jason
Full of life, characters, gossip and all the richness of the local community
Sanjeev Kohli
A compelling, full selection box of a story
Daily Mail
One of the best books I've read of the immigrant experience in this country . . . it's the detail that makes it . . . a subtle, enjoyable book.
Angela Clutton, author of THE VINEGAR CUPBOARD
I loved it cover to cover.
Radio Times
A story of assimilation and triumph.
Spectator
Sharma cleverly links her own memories of shop-bound life with the last 50 years of British history . . . How much we found out about you, says Sharma teasingly, as you dashed in for that last-minute bottle of wine.
Observer
Part memoir, part social history, The Corner Shop is a gentle, charming and at times poignant look at our nation of shopkeepers . . . human, accessible and informative; a nuanced exploration of part of British Asian life that has long been stereotyped - and therein lies this book's strength.
Nigel Slater, Observer
A delightful story of growing up "above the shop"
BBC Culture
An evocative real-life account of her own British Asian family running (and living above) a Reading shop