THE CLOTHES ON THEIR BACKS by Linda Grant (fic)

Linda Grant has woven a story of a young girl from a Jewish/Hungarian immigrant family growing up in post war London.  Grant exposes her characters in rich detail through descriptions of the clothes on their backs.
The girl, Vivian Kovak, grows up lonely and isolated by her timid parents from normal friendships and childhood experiences.  Her parents never speak of their past, live a solitary and frugal life, and never tell Vivian that she is Jewish.  They are so fearful of the past that they have her baptised in the Church of England. 

In 1963 when Vivian was ten years old a flashy stranger bearing gifts arrives at their door with a blowzy woman.  Vivian's father, Ervin, appears to know the man and in a fit of temper chases the twosome away. Vivian is left puzzled with only her imagination to answer her many questions.  The man is Sandor, Ervin's estranged brother, who after horrible wartime experiences, has made his way to London.  Since he is never again mentioned in the Kovak's household, it only some years later, when his face is splashed across the news, that Vivian finds out he is her uncle. 

Sandor forging ties with the London underbelly had become a notorious slum lord.  The newspapers portray him as a predator preying on the poor and downtrodden West Indian immigrants, and he is arrested and jailed.  In an author's note, we learn Sandor was modeled on Peter Rachman, a notorious London character of the 70s.  Sandor is insulted to learn reporters have compared him to the equally repugnant Kray brothers.

In the meantime, Vivian grows up, attends university and marries.  The husband she never stops loving, dies in a freak accident on their honeymoon, and Vivian spirals down in a depression that leads her back to the humdrum and colorless existence in her parents drab apartment.  However, she longs to escape this life, and by change one day her path crosses that of Sandor who has been released from jail. He has lost his fortune and flashy lifestyle but still owns an apartment building.  Vivian and Sandor become aware of their relationship, but it is never brought out into the open or acknowledged by either. Sandor wishes to write his memoirs in order to clear his name, and Vivian agrees to transcribe them.  In this way, she learns her family history which she had been longing to know.  She is fascinated by descriptions of her parents in their youth in Budapest and learning about the war years never mentioned in her home.

Clothes continue to be used to flesh out our images of the characters.  Vivian becomes involved with a tenant of Sandor's and she goes through a punk stage as she tries on different identities. This is the era of skinheads and the National Front in Britain.  Vivian joins an anti-Nazi group and actively campaigns against violence. Sandor has a West Indian girlfriend whose elegant dress is artfully described; she and Vivian eye each other with mutual distrust. Sandor continues to favor east end chic.

In the end the book is mainly about a young woman finding the identity which had been denied her by her parents. She does this as her odd relationship with her wayward uncle grows.  Grant does an excellent job of showing a different side of swinging London, the poor and disenfranchised.  She has written a captivating story which was short-listed for the Man Booker prize. I recommend it as an interesting read of relationships and human connections.