The Café on Manor Lane
Kyazze’s touching novel tells an intergenerational story of multicultural Britain through the eyes of three women. In 1952 Bella is a French Jew who escapes Nazi persecution to arrive in Lewisham. There she meets Nigerian doctor Aday and holds her wedding breakfast in the eponymous café. The café also has resonance for Bella’s daughter Amara. And in 2010 Bella’s granddaughter Gina is a struggling artist working there.
The novel interweaves the women’s story, focusing mainly on Gina and Bella. Bella is traumatised by her World War II experiences and her subsequent depression makes it hard for her to mother Amara, who in turn finds it difficult to be accepted because of her mixed race. While Gina faces racism too, she also has a controlling boyfriend whom she doesn’t seem to be able to escape. But customers in the café – mums with their babies, Tom and his artist girlfriend June and Mason from an artist commune – get Gina to look at things differently.
Kyazze writes powerfully about fascist rioting in 1977 and 2010, which bring the women’s stories together. While much is about racism, the writing has an uplifting side reflecting on the importance of love, family and friends helping relieve trauma across generations. I felt Gina was the strongest character in the story. The descriptions of her working as a sugar and chocolate artist and how her practice develops socially and politically give depth. The author knows the Lewisham area well and reflects her community with love and detailed observation.
