by Guy Gunaratne
This is the third Booker longlist nominee I have read this year. It was in two words.... brilliant and gut wrenching.
I was grabbed by the language right in the first few pages.
It is a book that in part is also set in two times (the 1970's? and the present). The book is about the racial/religious tensions in the past and in the present. It was a difficult book to read because of the things that happened it it. But at the same time the author was brilliant as he built up the tension to the "explosive" ending. The language was incredible, the interactions between the characters very powerful. While parts of the book her very negative and angry the book did seem to offer some hope for those who choose love over hate.
There are several characters in the book. Each chapter is written from the point of view of one character so that in some cases you get separate chapters covering the same incident from different character's perspectives.
The story displays increasing tension among blacks and Muslims in London and the impact it has on the young men and the reaction of the whites and others who aren't directl involved in the conflict but are impacted by it.
The stories from the past include a young black who comes to London from some tropical country so that he can save enough money so he can bring the woman he loves to England. At one point he gets tied up in partying with his buddies and later gets involved in some of the black unrest... but he decides to leave London before things get really serious. He does bring his lover to England and in the present he is ill (incapacitated) living with his wife and son. His son likes to run and box... he runs to get control of tension and this anger. He longs to be an olympic athlete.
The second story from the past is a young woman, daughter in an IRA family, who is sent to London to escape the violence in Ireland. She married but her husband left her with their child, a son. The woman's son is aware that there is tension between the white's, blacks and the Muslims but he just wants to hang out with the guys, play soccer, and write rap songs. He doesn't understand why there has to be the tension between the groups. The athlete encourages him to pursue his dreams and even gets him and intro to a record exec.
The third story is about two Muslim brothers. Their father was the Imam. When he died the new Imam adopted the family. The boys don't like the new Iman or the aggression he is breeding in young men in the Mosque. The older brother marries but his marriage doesn't last as his wife finds out he has pornographic and pedophic material on his computer. The man's family is devastated by this news but the young man is more upset when the Iman tells the older brother that he is not responsible for what is has done... he has been corrupted by the evil i London. The young brother confronts his brother and tells him he MUST accept responsibility. The older brother's response is to burn down the Mosque.
Not surprisingly, the Muslims assume the blacks set the fire and tension escalates, there are marches and demonstrations. They young brother of the Muslim man gets trampled during one of the demonstrations and dies.
The son of the woman is devastated by his friends death but his Mother, with whom he had not had a good relationship lately, tells him she is there for him and encourages him to follow his dream.
This was a powerful, brilliant book. You really got to see and feel what the various characters were feeling and experiencing. One of the most powerful parts of the books occurs when the black man who came to England to make his fortune sees some letters scrawled on a wall, KBW. It feels like a punch to the gut when he is told that stands for Keep Britain White. He cannot understand why blacks are despised by the Brits. He feels he is working hard and not causing any trouble.
I think this book would be worthy of the Booker award,
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