I Must Belong Somewhere tells the stories of the author’s great-grandfather and grandfather; each of whom was forced to flee his country and forge a new life elsewhere. But this is no ordinary family history. Jonathan Dean visits the places that changed the course of his family tree in the 20th century – Vienna, Cologne, Ukraine – and finds history repeating itself.
He observes the warning signs: the bigoted excesses of Brexit Britain, the rise of the Far Right in Austria, the backlash against refugees in Germany. By viewing these contemporary experiences through the prism of his family history – and vice versa – Jonathan Dean creates an impassioned, timely study of what it means to be a refugee, to be European and, ultimately, to be British.
Jonathan Dean is Senior Writer for Sunday Times Culture.
Saturday, 14 October at 1:30pm, Hungerford Croft Hall. Tickets £7.
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