I really enjoyed the inter- connectedness of these characters, and the depiction of London in this way.

This book has a large cast of characters
The short chapters make this a quick read
I couldn’t connect to the characters
This book isn’t for me

I think this book did a good job at showing the disparate lives of people in London. We see the rich and the poor and how they’ve got their money and security. We see gentrification and homelessness.

This novel took a while to get going for me and I never felt fully engaged. I think there were not many characters and too much going on in the novel to feel invested or even that interested. Didn’t fully work for me.

Although I had high hopes, the way that Hot Stew handled the central topic of sex work left me more than a little uncomfortable.

Soho has always seemed to me like the true centre of London. Sure, other places have the shops, museums, monuments and seats of power; main line rail links and access to the Thames — but Soho has London’s soul. And if you’re not inclined to think of cities possessing souls, then purely in terms of measurement it wins — the official centre of London is apparently Charing Cross, and Soho is just a short skip across from there.

During my years living in London it was the place I found most irresistible, and yet, for such a neat little square of a place, I somehow found it impossible to truly master. Even after a decade zipping through it, I could still always get lost there, and often did. It beguiles and defies you, all while drowning you in its layers of history. For me, it rang with personal historical resonance as my mum’s first teaching job was at a tiny school at the edge of Chinatown, on Great Windmill Street. I loved imagining her in the middle of the swinging 60s, scurrying through Soho with a bag of books: a Soho existence a million miles away from mine, and, in turn, miles again from Soho’s next inhabitant. Because all stories are possible here.

The diversity of Soho experiences, the soul, the history…all of these things are wrapped up in Fiona Mozley’s Hot Stew. The novel follows a cast of characters who still cling on to living in the district, despite the shrinking residential sector. There’s Precious, a mum-of-two, political activist and prostitute; Bastian, a privileged trust-fund type with a job at his dad’s company and a wonderful tenderness and sensitivity; Robert, an ex-neo-Nazi thug with a gay best friend, and ‘Debbie McGee’ a silent desiccated waif of a heroin addict who undergoes a remarkable change. There are no stereotypes here, but the characters aren’t exactly realistic either. Mozley draws them with bold sweeps and intricate nuance all at once. They’re larger than life, but all touching and charming in their own way. Hyperreal, almost.

The narrative switches between these points of view in a way that could very well be confusing. Often I find a large cast dilutes the story, or I find myself looking forward to one strand while simply tolerating others. But, in Hot Stew, I wanted more of every character’s perspective. I was a bit amazed and disappointed when my kindle told me I was 78% through and I felt like I was just getting started with everyone.
All these characters are grappling with change, either choosing to or being forced to shake off ingrained habits and expectations. This is true for Soho too. When I went back recently, the place was transformed, glossed up, anonymised. I didn’t dare look to see if my favourite little alcohol shop was still there, selling flavours and combinations that used to only be found in dusty little Soho shops but now take up a full aisle of Tesco. And it’s this force of capitalism erasing Soho’s character that forms the basis of Hot Stew’s plot. A developer is hoping to coerce the resident sex workers out of a bit of prime real estate by upping their rents, but they’re not prepared to go easily.

But while the plot is based in reality, like the complex hyperrealism of the characters, it is far from realism. Hot Stew is more like a performance piece, in prose form. Some chapters are theatrical set pieces, that exist to shine a light on an aspect of character, like a moment when a crown is found. Other parts are pure cinema. I was totally beguiled by this book from the opening scene — so much so that I found myself reading the starting sequence aloud to two different people. It’s a cinematic panning shot you can see in crystal-clear 16:8 as you read, starting with a snail and zooming out to set the scene for the entire novel.

Soho doesn’t get the Hollywood treatment though, there’s no glamour here. I don’t know which director would make the film of this book, but I would watch it in a heartbeat. Mainly to celebrate its mercurial grand dame of a leading lady, celebrated in all her gritty, disappearing, cherished glory: the wonderful Soho herself.

The synopsis is what drew me in (soho, development, brothel, society. i haven't read Fiona's Mozley first book.

At the start the book showed promise but the more i read the more i started to not enjoy the book. It felt disjointed, this is due to so many characters and you get a snip it and then they vanish, the stories jump and don't flow and did cause confusion. It also didn't feel well researched i know its fiction but if your using real life events (sex workers rights movement) or stories it should be better looked into and this left a whole of events that happened that would have strengthened this book.

Its a shame as i really wanted to enjoy this.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC for an honest review.

I found I struggled more than I thought with this one, the writing style and the language didn’t gel too well with me but I still enjoyed it and am glad I read it.
The scenes definitely come alive in your mind as if you’re watching a movie and I did like the eccentricity of it all but I just found it didn’t quite live up to expectation!

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I read this in the fortnight leading up to my dissertation deadline so there was a lot of picking it up in small bouts when I needed a quick break; that kind of start-and-stop approach worked really well with this story because of the way it's set out - you can jump in and out of the character's lives quite easily, without forgetting what's gone on previously. I really liked that. I also found it really interesting to read and found myself not wanting to put it down to go back to my dissertation; it's so easy to get caught up in these character's lives and I found myself unable to decide which character I was most interested in! Found myself wanting to skip ahead to see what happens next with some characters but then not wanting to because I didn't want to miss the next character's instalment.

The reason my rating dropped from 4 stars to 3.5 is because I found the ending a bit flat; it felt very sudden and just didn't feel very end-like - I still don't feel like I've actually finished the book, which is always an odd feeling. Otherwise though, I really enjoyed it.

Fine in general but unfortunately far too slow for me :( A true shame!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

A story of gentrification and inheritance, Hot Stew takes us to Soho, London where Agatha who has recently inherited her fathers buildings, decides she wants to force out the 'undesirable; people living in her properties and what ensues after is a complex look at one community in the midst of gentrification. Beautiful writing and complex story telling but I wish Mozley I had felt more of a connection to the characters.

London has changed a lot over the years. The Soho that Precious and Tabitha live and work in is barely recognisable anymore. And now, the building they call their home is under threat; its billionaire-owner Agatha wants to kick the women out to build expensive restaurants and luxury flats. Men like Robert, who visit the brothel, will have to go elsewhere. The collection of vagabonds and strays in the basement will have to find somewhere else to live. But the women are not going to go quietly. They have plans to make things difficult for Agatha but she isn't taking no for an answer.

Hot Stew is an insightful and ambitious novel about property, ownership, wealth and inheritance. It is about the place we occupy in society, especially women, and the importance placed on class and money. It doesn't shy away from asking difficult questions but does so with humour and intelligence.

The story of inheritance and gentrification - Agatha inherits a house from her father and sets about transforming it into luxury properties, evicting those who already live there and don't fit in with her plan. Its currently rented by more marginalised residents including sex workers and homeless residents - the story focusses on their stories as well as the physical space that is London and Soho. Interesting but not sure how much I enjoyed reading it, I prefer more relaxing books!

The story is centred around Soho and it's inhabitants; from Precious and Tabitha two prostitutes who are being evicted from their home, to clients like Robert who visit them and Agatha, who owns the property and wants to evict the women out to build luxury flats.

I was really intrigued by the synopsis of this novel and I wasn't disappointed. The collection of characters were all so well written that although I didn't like all them I was gripped by all of the intertwining stories and Soho was brought to life so vividly that I was hooked; loved the book and would definitely recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

I received an advance reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

First let me say if you were expecting this to be anything like her last book, expect again. However it is a delightful romp through London as it undergoes gentrification. Definitely sent a message with humor and charm. Solid four.

Dynamic and unique, with unforgettable characters - I always love books where London feels like a character.

I'd never read Fiona Mozley before, and I'm not sure if this was the best book to start with. It was a very London novel, very Dickensian. It also reminded me in parts of Zadie Smith - the good parts reminded me of the urban accurateness of "NW", the bad parts reminded me of the cartoony, quirky "White Teeth". There were a lot of characters. Yup. A lot of them. Maybe I just wasn't in the right headspace when I read this, but I felt utterly indifferent to everyone and everything that happens in this book. It's all very skilfully handled, well-written and plotted, but at the end I just felt empty. I didn't understand what the emotional heart of this book was supposed to be - it felt like a giant 'so what, why should I care?' to me. Maybe I'm just a bad, cold person; maybe I was just a bit depressed when I read this and it wasn't the right time for this kind of book. So I think my reaction is mainly my fault, and not the author's. Maybe I am just fundamentally not into large cast novels anymore, and maybe if I lived in/was interested in London it would be different. I still want to read 'Elmet". Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC.

Loved the setting, intersecting stories and the themes - however struggled to connect to some of the characters and understand their purpose.

I’m not sure what I was expecting but I think not such a beautifully descriptive story of the levels of life in a Soho building. Every scene was so sharply in focus, every gesture captured , every word real that the characters jumped off the page. It meanders and diverts but kept me engaged and I was surprised how readable it was. Some characters are more likeable than others, loved Precious and Tabitha, as would be expected in a book about the steaming, festering underbelly of London but this is well worth reading.

This was everything I could have wanted and more. I loved how you were introduced to individual characters and how they then all linked together. One of the best books I’ve read all year.

London has changed a lot over the years. The Soho that Precious and Tabitha live and work in is barely recognisable anymore. And now, the building they call their home is under threat; its billionaire-owner Agatha wants to kick the women out to build expensive restaurants and luxury flats. Men like Robert, who visit the brothel, will have to go elsewhere.

This is a book that talks about all things relevant to society, we get culture, race, sexuality, and wealth! This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.