Deeds/Abstracts: The History of a London Lot, 1 January 1991 - 6 October 1992 (1995) by Greg Curnoe

It is ten years since I initially read this book. When I picked it up the first time I did so out of an interest for anything local; I read it but likely didn’t “get” it, thinking it was too artsy or irrelevant. Now, with a more entrenched curiosity regarding place, and the histories that tell a version of a story of who we are today, this re-read was much more engaging than my initial pass. Giving consideration to all of the histories that make up the cultural history of the places we occupy, Curnoe takes a deep dive into his home/lot/property to understand how it came to be, including all of the surrounding and external factors that shape a specific parcel of land, and the broader region it is situated within.