Undercurrent cover art

Undercurrent

A Cornish memoir of poverty and resilience, shortlisted for the Nero Book Awards 2023

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Undercurrent

By: Natasha Carthew
Narrated by: Natasha Carthew
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About this listen

 There's a Cornish saying that nothing is left behind in an autumnal tide, the powerful tug between the sun and the equator makes the water surface stronger, and it pulls and builds until we are left with what is known as great tides - but as I stand here on my childhood beach someplace in my 40s, all I can see is the stretch of grey rocks and sand where the ebb has come and gone.

Natasha Carthew grew up in rural poverty in Cornwall, battling limited opportunities, precarious resources, escalating property prices, isolation and a community marked by the ravages of inequality. Her world existed alongside the postcard picture Cornwall, where wealth and privilege converged on sandy beaches and expensive second homes.

In the rockpools and hedgerows of the natural world, Natasha found solace in the beauty of the landscape, and in the mobile library she found her means of escape. In her first non-fiction audiobook she returns to the cliff-paths of her childhood, determined to make sense of an upbringing shaped by political neglect and a life defined by the beauty of nature.

Undercurrent is part-memoir, part-investigation, part love-letter to Cornwall. It is a vivid, powerful exploration of rural poverty, and the often devastating impact of living without the means or support to build a future. This is a journey through place, and a story of hope, beauty, and fierce resilience.

(P) 2023 Hodder & Stoughton Limited©2023 Natasha Carthew Cultural & Regional Social Classes & Economic Disparity Social Sciences Sociology Memoir

Critic reviews

Haunting and powerful, a book about the sea and the power of belonging, about secrets and words, this is a beautiful and powerful memoir. I read it in one sitting.
Raw, rebellious, urgent and hopeful, this is a stunning tale of a life made and saved by nature (Dr Helen Scales)
Natasha Carthew shines the light on another side of Cornwall, one far from the world of bright Instagram pictures and celebrity travel shows. She reveals a place of poverty, dead-end jobs and little hope. But she writes so passionately about a world she knows well and her humanity and sense of humour shine though on every page, ensuring that the often dark subject matter fuels a rich, rewarding read (Petroc Trelawny)
Luscious layers of poetic prose that fluidly lead us through the landscapes and seascapes of Cornwall, recounting stories of poverty and often tough childhood struggles. Stories told by one who knew that they needed and wanted so much more for their life, but one for whom the seascape of Cornwall is still the hypnotic textural lens.
This book is a beautiful, sometimes difficult, elegy to our innermost hopes, fears and dreams. Gorgeously and generously written (Juno Roche)
A book like a beacon, blazing with love and anger for how it is to grow up poor and full of serious ambition in a place others use as a playground. Carthew's unbreakable commitment to making art from the outside edge of social provision is a rallying call to all of us who grew up pushed to the margins. This is a fierce, inspiring story (Tanya Shadrick)
Poetic, political and powerful, Natasha Carthew weaves lyrical and sensual nature writing with the tough realities of growing up in poverty (Chloe Timms)
A compelling counterbalance to the conventional Cornish story, Undercurrent takes the reader into a side of Cornwall that is rarely presented to the outside world. Natasha Carthew, in scintillating prose, recounts her childhood by the sea, in a place full of dazzling natural beauty, but with a dark side of poverty, inequality and lack of opportunity. Her moving story of finding a way to become a writer is both a testament to her strength, and a passionate call for social justice for disadvantaged rural communities (Sophie Pierce)
Railing against the brutal unfairness of accepting the life she seems condemned to lead, Natasha weaves an exhilarating story of escaping the dangerous undercurrents of her life and becoming the writer she was always meant to be. I was with her until the end (Linda Gask)
Carthew shows us Cornwall as it often lived but rarely seen, where the rich holiday and others struggle to survive. It's a tale of two counties with the ever-changing sea as a constant. It is a story of queer resistance, of community and of finding your own voice (Damian Barr)
By turns marvellous, moving, & mesmerising
All stars
Most relevant
Absolutely adored this and the conclusions of the current state of social affairs in the county (which I also grew up in and had to leave) had me verging from livid to mournful. Thank you to the author for sharing your story.

Phenomenal, gripping as the tide

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I found the balance of an individual story of rural poverty and isolation supported by the research very powerful

Honesty

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Firstly thank you Natasha for writing your story. Treasured imagery readily accessible and made even more vivid by hearing your voice, like an amplifier. I would urge all your readers to audiobook it too, as your lilting singsong tones made me feel at home & it gave it an Iliad quality~ that’s quite a journey you’ve been on. Twice my husband came into the kitchen where I was listening (favoured spot) and believed I was in mid Skype with my sister or niece.
I no longer live in Cornwall, but go home regularly to what is largely an unrecognisable village (recently been dubbed the perfect village). There was much to resonate and reflect upon. I am so proud of you, from one Cornish council house girl to another.

Wonderful & Real

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Getting to hear this often ignored story as read by a Cornish author with the proper accent, getting to feel the story wash between personal account and current landscape, statistics and story is an incredible, unique and incredibly effective way to weave a tapestry of Cornish life. Thank you for sharing this with us!

Illuminating

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I've got so much admiration for Natasha after listening to this. It's s a beautiful book, very sad in parts but Natasha rises above everything and triumphs. We holidayed in Millbrook on a farm in 1996, a lovely place but obviously very challenging if you don't have any money or resources. I wilil look for more of her work.

Loved It

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