At a time when political parties seem to be eyeing up the green belt as a potential site for housing, John Grindrod’s salutary memoir-cum-meditation is a reminder that not everything can be viewed in simple black and white – or green and brown – terms. Grindrod grew up on “the last road in London”, the New Addington housing estate in Croydon, and retains a great, although not uncritical, affection for the 13% of England that is neither town nor country, but something else entirely. It would take the skills of a Betjeman to come up with a stirring ode to the green belt, and fine writer though he is, Grindrod is no Betjeman. Yet this well-researched and engaging book has other charms. It allows the reader to reconsider parts of the country that they might have taken for granted, and offers its own modest encomium to a part of England that seems under threat.
• Outskirts by John Grindrod is published by Sceptre (£16.99). To order a copy for £12.74 go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99
