There’s something about a title like No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy that stops you in your tracks. It sounds like every street I grew up on. Mark Hodkinson’s memoir isn’t just about books — it’s about class, identity, and the quiet defiance of wanting more when the world tells you to settle.
Hodkinson grew up in Rochdale, where reading wasn’t exactly seen as normal. Yet he finds his escape in stories, stacking books like bricks, one after another, building himself a world that no one else around him seemed to notice. What he captures perfectly is that working-class tug of war — loyalty to where you’re from, and the ache to find something beyond it.
He writes with humour, warmth, and a sharp eye for detail. You can almost smell the chip shops, hear the local pub chatter, feel that mix of pride and frustration that runs through northern towns. It’s a reminder that literature doesn’t belong to the elite — it belongs to anyone who’s ever looked out a rain-smeared window and thought, there has to be more than this.
Reading it, I saw echoes of my own story. Growing up where books were rare, but imagination wasn’t. Writing, like reading, becomes a small act of rebellion — a way to say we were here, we mattered, we had something to say.
Why You Should Read It
If you care about working-class voices, northern culture, or how books can shape a life, this one’s worth your time. It’s honest, relatable, and quietly powerful — a book for readers and non-readers alike.
About the Author
Tommy Kennedy IV is a writer and music promoter from Warrington, based in London. His work celebrates working-class voices with grit, humour, and honesty.
Read more stories, essays, and cultural pieces at www.tommykennedyiv.com or subscribe to the newsletter to join the conversation.
A review of No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy by Mark Hodkinson — a powerful northern memoir about class, books, and finding identity beyond expectation.
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