Bitmo Sunday book review

Sunday Book Review -The Rat in the Python – The Home #babyboomers

Published on by dgkaye

Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing Alex Craigie’s latest book release – The Rat in the Python, book 1 – The home. This was such an interesting read I would classify this book as memoir on nostalgia. Alex takes us back to the United Kingdom in the 1950s and gives us a grand tour back into those times when homes had no modern appliances or fittings. She brings us into her own life as a child as she goes through descriptions of every day living with comparisons to to the luxuries we have today.

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Blurb:

If you haven’t heard of a liberty bodice, believe that half-a-crown is something to do with impoverished royalty and never had the experience of slapping a television to stop the grainy black and white picture from rolling, then this series might not be for you. Please give it a go, though – I suspect that most of it will still resonate no matter where you were brought up!

The Rat in the Python is about Baby Boomers who, in the stability following the Second World War, formed a statistical bulge in the population python. It is a personal snapshot of a time that is as mystifying to my children as the Jurassic Era – and just as unrecognisable.

My intention is to nudge some long-forgotten memories to the surface, test your own recollections and provide information and statistics to put it all in context.

Are you sitting comfortably?

Then I’ll begin…

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My Five Star Review:

From fireplaces to blankets, stoves, floors, furniture and painting, Craigie takes us through the times of the 1950s in the United Kingdom, sharing what life was like back then when she was a young child. The author draws a picture of her home growing up that helps us visualize what things were like back then. With no electrical heating and no indoor plumbing, we get a feel through her words, for how it would feel to have to go outside in the cold, dark, or rain just to relieve yourself. No power bars to aid multiple plug sockets. Craigie takes our minds with her precise imagery, right into the 1950s daily life.

In this memoir of time and lifestyle in the 1950s, the author shares her childhood conveniences and inconveniences with great detail and many photos to accompany described items. We’ll learn the purpose of each room, as homes were small, some with big families. We’ll learn about decor and decorum. We’ll learn about the dangerous substances used in building materials, such as: asbestos, arsenic, and coal. We’ll learn about the aftermath of England after WWII, living conditions, and that food rations actually began after WWII and ran well into the 50s. Modern housing introduced formica in the kitchen, brighter colors and checkerboard floors. It was interesting to learn that there really was some kind of manual for housewives – How to run your home, with chores slotted in a daily calendar – cleaning, cooking, laundry, errands. And, we’ll learn why it took England longer than it did North America to bounce back with progress or a strong economy, after the war, which is so weird to think now that it’s usually Europe who is more advanced than us here on this North American side of the pond.

The author comes full circle taking us through the changes from housing to life and times in U.K. living. This was a great and educational read, and a good reminder to be grateful for all we have in advancement in our modern world.

©DGKaye2023

105 thoughts on “Sunday Book Review -The Rat in the Python – The Home #babyboomers”

  1. I’ve got a few other books I must read before this one (helping with blog tours, etc.), but I’ll get to this one in the next couple of months. I know it’s going to be great.

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      1. I’m making an effort to bring some that have become buried at the bottom of my TBR pile to the surface, Liz! I need more hours in the day or a really, really long life!

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    2. Scraping a little patch to see what it was like outside, Janet – and watching your breath curl around the room! Thanks for the comment!

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  4. Hi Debby – this sounds a fascinating read … I can read my own life into her thoughts. What a fun title too – I’ll look out for it – nostalgia sounds a good genre right now – cheers Hilary

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    2. Thanks, Hilary! They were very different times – and, while the short term memory is a tad unreliable now, the long term one remembers things with an almost shocking clarity! I’ve added things like advertisements to back up my references and some of them are hilarious. 😀

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    2. I’m not sure my children, let alone my grandchildren, believed me. Fortunately, I have photos to back up my tales! I’m sure you’ll recognise things! 😀

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  7. Great review, Debby. I also grew up in that era, and we were lucky to have indoor plumbing and central heating in our prefab, but alas… the walls were made of asbestos! I bought the book by the way. x

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    2. We were so uninformed about the dangers then, Stevie! Many thanks for the comment and for buying the book. There’s a section on prefabs (and their asbestos) !

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    1. Hi Sal. Thanks so much for adding your thoughts. I know you already enjoyed and reviewed this lovely book. I know this book has brought a curiosity to many from the U.K. and will surely be an eye-opener for others, like me, who did’t grow up there. ❤ xx

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      1. It’s so good to hear that, Debby! One of my worries was that it wouldn’t have any relevance for those elsewhere in the world. ❤ ❤

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  9. A great review of Alex`s book. Things were quite different in the UK than in North America at that time. My husband and I often discuss the differences as he was raised there and I was raised in Canada. This would be an education for many and nostalgia for others.

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    2. Thanks, Darlene. It was only when I compared the images of childhood between here and Canada and the US that I appreciated the difference between us. It took us a while to catch up with your new-fangled lifestyle!

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  10. This sounds fascinating. I was born in the 50s – just. 2 weeks before the decade ran out, to be precise, so some of this will be somewhat familiar (I certainly remember thumping the black and white TV!), but, thankfully, not all. Indoor plumbing was definitely something I’m grateful was in place for my childhood!
    What a great idea for a book!

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    1. Hi Deb. Yes, this book was certainly a fascinating read as it goes over British home life in post war England. Certainly an education, and surely a great reminisce for those who lived in the times. ❤

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    2. Thanks for that, Debby. We had indoor plumbing, but my grandparents didn’t. Some of the statistics are shocking – and remained so for many well into the sixties.

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  11. I’ve read other reviews about this book, and it sounds like a great way to catch up with what life was like in the UK in the 1950s. A true chronicle of the social history of the time. Congratulations to Alex and thanks for your review, Debby.

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  12. I have several of Trish’s books waiting on me, and this one is intriguing. Sometimes, we need to take a step back in time to appreciate where we are. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this book, Debby. Congratulations to Trish!

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    2. Many, many thanks, Jan. I think all of us have travelled a huge distance in terms of technology and a lot of that is for the good. It’s easy to see the past through those rose-coloured glasses of childhood when we had so few responsibilites and so much freedom. For our parents, especially our mothers, it must have been hard. Many women believed their role was to keep things happy and easy for everyone else and wore themselves ragged in the process.

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      4. I’m so sorry, Jacqui! I don’t have a blog and now I feel like I’m definitely missing out!

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    2. Thanks, Liz. I hadn’t appreciated how far behind the UK was with those over the pond until I looked for images of the time. I do remember seeing Lucy using a dishwasher and it was straight out of science fiction!

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    2. Many thanks for the lovely comment, Damyanti – Debby has to take the credit for writing such a great review. 🙂

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  17. Debby, thank you so much for reading The Rat in the Python and writing this wonderful review about it. It certainly gladdens the heart to see so many positive responses to it. The sky outside was dark with a heavy storm as I started reading this post, and now the sun’s come out and there’s a glorious rainbow – I’ll take that as a sign of your influence! ❤ ❤ ❤

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    1. Aw Trish, you just gave me goosebumps. I’m thrilled to help spread the word for your beautiful book. I am so glad so many here have and have purchased your book. So much rich and personal history. Happy rainbows! Hugs ❤ xx ❤

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  18. Thanks for the great review, Debby. “It is a personal snapshot of a time that is as mystifying to my children as the Jurassic Era – and just as unrecognisable.” One of the best lines I’ve heard in a blurb for quite some time. Congratulations, Alex!

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  21. Thank you Alex and Debs!! Congratulations. I was brought up in the 30’s and 40’s, so can recall a typical day… A quick wash (who owned a shower?!) a scramble to find a warm spot to dress (in front of the lone electric fire.) There were three, then four of us. A brisk walk to school (who owned a car then?) Everything was basic: a boiler – no washing machine /a ‘clothes wringer ‘in the yard…no fridge – just jugs of cold water or bowls for milk, etc., when hot. No TV but how we loved our wireless (radio) and so on. BUT plenty of love. Looking back, it was just something that was part of what it was! It’s amazing what one gets used to, but thanks to Alex for enlightening today’s generations of what life was like back in the past.

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    1. Hello my lovely Joy. Thanks for visiting and sharing a bit more about those golden oldie days with us. Definitely a different era. And when you had nothing to compare to modern appliances, you may have felt as though you weren’t missing out on anything. 🙂 ❤ xx

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  23. In May I read Alex’s The Bubble Reputation and took with it one quote that resonated: “Emmie accepts that people will believe what they want to believe, even when faced with the truth that contradicts it.” I think that’s true.

    I could identify with this book, except I’d have to face looking at the snake on the cover. LOL! Of course, the era of the 1950s feels familiar to me. Thanks for the review, Debby.

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  24. Great review, Debby!
    This memoir of lifetime and lifestyles sounds good for posterity. It’s one thing when historians look back, gather data and form their research into a- this is what is was like back then- book report.
    This is the real deal.
    I’ve always liked memoirs. However, since knowing you (Debby) I’ve come to see their greater importance.
    Congratulations to Alex on her new publication, and for her contribution to our descendants.
    🙂 x

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    1. Hi Res. Thanks so much for your lovely comment. I love memoirs because I love learning about people and situations, and identifying with many of the stories. I always have, so no surprise I write in the genre. Thanks for your lovely compliments Resa. Hugs ❤ xx

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