A Boy from Nowhere

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A Boy from Nowhere

Category:	Biography
Author:	David Mitchell
Publisher:	Melrose Books
Price:	£13.99
ISBN:	9781906050313
Pages:	214
Reviewed in issue:	9

The first volume of David Mitchell’s autobiography details the author’s life from his birth in 1928 to the world of European trade in the early 1960s. It’s a story of childhood hardship and adventure that sees the author transform into a successful businessman by the time he’s in his thirties. The story begins in the East End, and it is this first section of the book, leading up until the end of WWII, which is the most engaging. The author’s style is friendly and warm, and the reader has the impression of Mitchell sitting by a roaring fire in his armchair and fondly looking back over his life. I was thoroughly entertained by stories in which Mitchell and his friends play by the mud in the Thames and are subjected to both poverty and the charity of benefactors. A mesmerising portrayal of life in 1930s London, it provokes nostalgia for an age long since gone, and it is the little snippets and anecdotes that make this section so thought-provoking. The latter stages of the book move to the complex world of the confectionery trade. While the stories about Communist-era Czechoslovakia make for frightening reading, the other chapters detailing the business world felt, at times, a little laborious. The author’s style remains strong, but the subject lacks the earlier spark found in the book.

This book is well presented and has been thoroughly proof-read. As autobiographies go it is above average and makes for a very enjoyable read.

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