Bethnal Green by Amélie Skoda | book review

For this book about a Malaysian migrating to London in the 1970s, I write a critical book review, then criticise my own criticism

I read Bethnal Green on one spring Saturday, beginning in a cosy Japanese café in the morning before the weekend crowd filtered in, and ending at home with a cup of warm tea. This historical fiction was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025, as it follows a woman who migrates from Malaysia to the UK, similar to my own journey. Her hometown of Penang …