Fleeting encounters on London buses

Fleeting they may be, but these vignettes and portraits are conveyed with tremendous warmth and generosity. Michele Roberts brilliantly depicts the city in all its rackety diversity, and this slim volume punches far above its weight. 'Living in London, I relish travelling by bus. Sometimes sitting upstairs at the front, to get the view, as we zip or creep across the river. Sometimes sitting downstairs, near the door, to get the fresh air. I prefer a bus journey to one on the tube because our progress, nosing through the traffic, works like a live line drawing, creates a live map, connecting the different parts of the city, letting me see it whole (...) I take a back seat much of the time, figuratively speaking. This is not a memoir so much as a sketch of people moving around our city, whether we feel we belong in it or not.' - Michele Roberts, from the book's introduction