Skip to main content
Donate to the 95 years appeal
Beside the seaside
HELEN MERCER is disappointed by a depiction of Englands ‘coastal commons’ that lacks compassion and fails to illuminate the root causes of their decay
BLIGHT AND NEGLECT: An illustration from Coast of Teeth [Louis Netter]

Coast of Teeth: Travels to English Seaside Town in an Age of Anxiety
by Tom Sykes and Louis Netter
Signal Books, £14.99

IF you have ever caught the train to Brighton of a weekend or bank holiday, you may have noticed the excited anticipation rippling through the carriage as it pulls into the station. 

All races, cultures, ages, sexes and even classes have the prospect of a day of earthly pleasure-seeking: wide and windy beaches stretch to the horizon, along with bad food, slot machines and shivering dips.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
(L to R) How many Aunties?, Back Hares Mount, Leeds, 1978; M
Photography / 14 April 2025
14 April 2025

Peter Mitchell's photography reveals a poetic relationship with Leeds

RESILIENCE: (Right) Stand Up To Racism protest on October 26
Features / 31 December 2024
31 December 2024
The Morning Star sorts the good eggs from the rotten scoundrels of the year
Tampa Tribune, 3.12.1947
Book Review / 10 December 2024
10 December 2024
TOMASZ PIERSCIONEK relishes a collection of cartoons that focus on Palestine from the period 1917 to 1948
Aboubakar Traore
Global Routes / 2 December 2024
2 December 2024
Two new releases from Burkina Faso and Niger, one from French-based Afro Latin The Bongo Hop, and rare Mexican bootlegs