Homesick: Why I Live in a Shed
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Reviews
St Just Monday Morning Reading Group 30th August 2021.
Homesick: why I live in a shed. Catrina Davies.
On the whole, this group enjoyed reading Homesick, commenting on it as a very readable book which raised a lot of pertinent issues, outlined a personal journey about choices, and left the reader with continuing thoughts and impressions. Several people commented on her descriptions of the area – lanes, pond, fruit stall, cave, toilet block, cafe, beaches – which are familiar to locals, and most people knew the location of her shed and admired her efforts with living there.
Not everyone agreed about the writing style or the impetus behind the book. Some found it well written and researched, with brilliant capture of moments (such as whilst surfing); good management of the reflective passages, ‘flowing from now to then to discussion of what it’s all about, without losing the reader’; and the Thoreau extracts preceding each section and helping to shape the book. Others thought it a ‘messy’ read, and the quotes and dictionary references insufficiently integrated. One reader commented: ‘it didn't seem to make up its mind whether it was trying to be an academic essay or a diary of misfortune and self reflection.’ Another replied that she thought it was both.
The main disagreement, though, was about the author’s position on the housing issue. The point that the author had to work two part-time, often seasonal jobs just to survive, as do many in the area, and the shortage of housing due to excessive supply of holiday lets, was obviously well made, everyone thought. The highlighting of the plight of young people unable to afford a home of their own was appreciated. A lot of people empathised with the author and the troubles she had, and several people commented on her honesty as a writer. ‘A life well lived’, one of them wrote. Some thought that her willingness to pay taxes, make the shed an official residence, and work at unattractive jobs in order to live in the area she loved and where she was brought up, made her lifestyle and her points in the book justifiable. Others however found ‘the dichotomy between someone who did not want to use their talents by working, at odds with her views on housing’. Or: you can’t live outside society and yet reap the benefits of it. Or further: you only get out what you put in. Someone also pointed out that she is very lucky in that she is resourceful, has no children, and had the opportunity to live somewhere permanent, albeit basic in amenities, and that she might not have endured this lifestyle had she not been well educated. And that the ‘go fund me’ page set up by the author’s sister after the burglary raised a large amount of money for the author, which is not usually the happy ending for most of the rest of the homeless.
Lastly, several readers mentioned how depressing is the situation depicted by this author. One remembered the film ‘Cathy Come Home’, broadcast in the 1960s, which shocked the nation at the time, and commented how little things seemed to have changed since then.
This book was read during August 2021 and the continuing restrictions due to the Covid-19 virus, and so the discussion was not 'live' as usual, but took place via a Facebook group, email and telephone conversations.
