God's Zoo: Artists, Exiles, Londoners

This book is the record of a journey through the world cultures of contemporary London. More specifically, it records a series of encounters with individuals who, although otherwise very different from each other, have three things in common. They are all displaced from their homeland or their origins. They have all become, in some sense, Londoners. And they are all, in their own fields, creative artists. Drawing on many hours of recorded conversation, but distilled with a poet's eye for form and for the telling detail, God's Zoo weaves its story from many stories, each chapter gaining resonance from the others. This is a book about many things. It bears witness to the difficulties encountered by people who have left behind not only a homeland but also family, culture and language. It is also a portrait of a city: London, as Kociejowski writes, is the main character even though it sits and watches silently for most of the time. Above all, it is a testament to the enduring value of art and creativity in human lives.