Adrian Tinniswood
Where the Houses Have No Names
The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power
By Deirdre Mask
Profile 323pp £16.99
The house in the west of Ireland where I spend half my year has no conventional address, although, like every other house in Ireland, it does now have a seven-digit Eircode, the equivalent of a British postcode. But Eircodes were only introduced in 2014 and in my part of Ireland at least, they seem to be used only by ambulance men and bewildered Amazon delivery drivers.
Bewildered because there are no street names where I live, no house numbers and no house names. And it doesn’t seem to matter. Local people, including the postman, just know where everyone lives. Visitors coming from further afield get directions – ‘the second house on the right after the turn for the ferry’ – which, when put to locals, usually provoke an exclamation of recognition: ‘Ah, you mean Pat Sean’s place!’ (Pat Sean was a previous occupant. He died several decades ago.)
I’d never really thought about all this until I started to read Deirdre Mask’s The Address Book. I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a book so much. Thought-provoking and entertaining, it demonstrates brilliantly that addresses are about so much more than location. They provide evidence of class and
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
Are iPhones ruining children's lives? A prominent American psychologist thinks so.
@tiffanyjenkins is not so sure:
Tiffany Jenkins - The Smartphone Pandemic
Tiffany Jenkins: The Smartphone Pandemic - The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an...
literaryreview.co.uk
India's 'festival of democracy', or general election, begins next month. Like every good festival, it looks likely to have its fair share of murders and arrests.
@OwenBennettJon probes the state of democracy in India:
Owen Bennett-Jones - New Delhi Confidential
Owen Bennett-Jones: New Delhi Confidential - The Incarcerations: BK-16 and the Search for Democracy in India by Alpa Shah
literaryreview.co.uk
Where is the world's newest narcostate and why is it thriving?
@AdamBrookesWord investigates Asia's meth mecca.
Adam Brookes - Meth Comes to Myanmar
Adam Brookes: Meth Comes to Myanmar - Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Outwitted the CIA by Patrick Winn
literaryreview.co.uk