Guy Gunaratne

I grabbed 'In Our Mad and Furious City' during my final pre-lockdown library expedition, because I recalled seeing a good review somewhere. On goodreads, probably. It did indeed prove to be a striking and powerful snapshot of poverty, racism, and immigrant experience in a specific corner of London. The split narration is deployed effectively to contrast the daily experience of teenage boys and their parents. Although the narrative builds to a violent climax, I found the little details and dialogue more memorable than the most dramatic scenes. Gunaratne evokes an excellent sense of place and convincing family and friendship dynamics. The gap between the experiences of different generations is highlighted by the flashback sequences narrated by adult characters. These have plenty of impact, although they interrupt the book's momentum a little. While the plot and themes are too depressing to be called enjoyable, the writing has a lovely rhythm that makes it a pleasure to read. Overall an insightful and distinctive portrait of London's social fractures. It would read well with [b:Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire|36352480|Natives Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire|Akala|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1577923588l/36352480._SY75_.jpg|58034799] and [b:Poverty Safari|36317638|Poverty Safari|Darren McGarvey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1506592247l/36317638._SY75_.jpg|57992152].… (more)

Set in London, this book follows five characters: Three friends (Yusuf, Selvon, and Ardan) and two of their parents (Caroline and Nelson). Each of them relates the tale in the first person with alternating chapters. The friends, each from different backgrounds, are bonding by football (soccer to us U.S. folks) and music. Each is facing serious familial challenges that further bind them together. An incident where an Islamic young man murders a soldier has set off a spate of escalating riots and racial tensions.

First, let me say that even though I didn't personally love this book, I am very surprised it wasn't shortlisted for the Man Booker. I read four of the shortlisted titles, and I think this book is more innovative and powerful (and frankly, interesting) than any of the four I read.

Putting that to the side, I will say that I felt the book took its time getting its footing. For the first half, I had two issues. Each person speaks in their own vernacular, and honestly I find it exhausting to try to decipher these dialects while following the story. None of them were especially hard (the Milkman it was not), and I do think it was a defensible choice . . .but what it really meant was that I took about a third of the book to really find my reading rhythm.

The latter half was excellent. Characters begin to truly reveal themselves and there were some plot points that had me gasping. I thought it was very clever of the author to demonstrate how violence escalates on the basis of untruths and innuendo. But he also had hopeful moments and left the door open for happiness for some of the characters. It was an excellent balance, and when I closed the book, I was satisfied and happy I had read it. This book is a debut novel, so I expect to see great things from this author going forward.



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This book tells the story of two days on a South London housing estate, as tensions rise in the summer heat after the Islamist-inspired murder of a soldier on a nearby street. What happens is told through the eyes of five narrators, three young men (Selvon, Ardan and Yusuf) and two older characters, Nelson and Caroline, who counterpoint the modern story, thinking about tensions and conflicts from different places and times (Nelson, from the Windrush generation, remembers Teddy boys and Enoch Powell - Caroline is from an IRA family who made her move to London for her own safety after they started a feud with soldiers from a nearby base).

The male characters' chapters are read by Ben Bailey Smith, aka rapper Doc Brown, who is brilliant at capturing the swing and rhythm of the prose. And that's the best thing about this book, along with the well-observed little details of everyday life for the young men, and the way that the different tribes on the estate form and mix. All of that I thought was great.

What worked less well for me was the overall story - I guess you need some 'drama' in the book but I would have been happy to follow these guys across the course of a normal week (or year) and I think a good writer can do a lot with apparently trivial ups and downs. Also, the character of Caroline seems to be there because otherwise the story wouldn't pass the Bechdel test. Full marks to Gunaratne for recognising that his narrative was short on a female perspective, but Caroline just is not convincing as a character, particularly compared to how real the other narrators feel.

Despite these critiques, I do think the book is worth reading and would particularly recommend listening to the audiobook.… (more)

It was supposed to be like every summer they could remember, hanging out, football, freedom and music. But an off duty soldier has just been murdered and the tension in the air is palpable. The anger in the area is spilling over into riots. Selvon and Ardan are wary of what is going on around them, but their friend, Yusuf, is starting to get caught up in the rise of radicalism in his own mosque. Worryingly, his brother is falling for the rhetoric from the Imam. Watching from the sidelines are the emigres, Caroline from Ireland and Nelson from West India. They and their children, Arden an aspiring rapper and Selvon who is trying to run his way out of the estate.

The bonds that have been forged between the youngsters as they played football and grew up together are going to be stretched to the maximum as the tension builds in the community. A march has been arranged by a right-wing group through the estate, something is going to snap soon, who will survive the coming maelstrom.

Gunaratne’s debut novel has drawn on recent and past events from London’s story of immigration and inner-city estates and is both raw and simmering with tension. It pulses with the language from the street, which did take a while to get the hang of, but added authenticity that fits the backdrop perfectly. Setting the plot over the course of two days works really well too, the pace is relentless with short chapters as the story is told from multiple perspectives. He holds a mirror up to recent events, not to criticise our modern society, but to ask searching questions about why the tensions are there in the first place. Well worth reading as a sparkling contemporary novel.… (more)