Random Things Tours: A Year in the Life - Adventures in British Subcultures by Lucy Leonelli

 

Long before all this virus-related story happened, I used to be a travel writer. I love travel and I always did and this two year hiatus uprooted me from the flow of life. Travel, for me, is life, it gives me strength and inspiration and helps me to meet directly people and cultures. Over 50% of what I am - the good and very good part of it - is because of my travels. How else can one open his or her mind and enter mindset and worlds if not through travel? The educated travel, the social tourism, Lucy Leonelli is self-proclaiming as a representative thereof. 

A Year in the Life. Adventures in British Subcultures is an A to Z live dictionary of people, their hobbies and habits. From London to Essex and Leicestershire, Leonelli is curiously taking notes about other people lives. She goes to a Goth Weekend and gets to know eccentric hippies, dog races or UFOlogists. There are some Kabbalah Center people too, which I politely will never take seriously, either in the UK, Berlin or Los Angeles. It´s a big hoax, if you ask me. 

This book is mostly countering any stereotypes one may associate with British (sub)cultures. No Beatles, no afternoon tea, no Queen, no Jane Austen or Brontë ...There is hunting, but there is hard to avoid this noble habit, as it is more than a hobby, it nurtures economy in some part of the country and cannot simply dismissed.  But this is the kind of account someone will get when knows a country beyond the glossy magazines. It is the direct interaction and acquaintance with the daily life of a place and its very real blood-and-flesh people. The dialogues between the author and its larger than life characters are one of the strongest part of the book, sharing both genuine humour and serious conversations.

A Year in the Life is animated and brings to life characters that talk and behave British but at the same time can be seen all over the world - especially the UFO-lovers I dare to say; maybe some Goths too. It encourages you, as a reader to indulge your curiosity and open up towards the most possible diverse people in the world, no matter their passport. Being a ´social tourist´ pays off.  

Rating: 3 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour, but the opinions are, as usual, my own