An incredibly important book, if you're working class you'll want to read it, if you're not working class you should read it.

'Undercurrent' does not make for easy reading, whether there is trauma in your past or not. It is dark, shot through with beams of light and softness. The memoir focuses on Carthew's childhood and teenagehood. Among its powerful themes are an abusive and mostly absent father, being queer in an environment hostile to difference, poverty, and the bonds of female community. The author does not romanticise the Cornish countryside of her home; at times she revels in it, and at others, she seems to reject it. Scattered between the recollections of Carthew's youth are brief and highly salient sections on the state of poverty in Cornwall and other rural places; unsurprisingly, many metrics of deprivation have worsened since the Covid-19 pandemic, especially when it comes to the health and wellbeing of children. This is a book that exemplifies what 'lived experience' really means. If I had to make one criticism, it would be that the language is repetitive in places, with the author frequently talking about her own wildness. But there is an honesty to her writing. It is uncompromising. A book that deserves to be read widely.

I enjoyed it as I knew and could picture all the places. Good to have an accurate picture of Cornwall. However this book should have been better edited- much repetition and a few innacurate facts.