In Our Mad and Furious City

Nominated for both the 2018 Booker and Goldsmiths prizes, In our Mad and Furious City is a gritty debut about two days in the lives of London s diverse population living in a poor neighborhood called Estates The book is narrated by a handful of immigrants from two generations From Belfast to the Caribbean islands, different inner street contemporary voices emerge using the vernacular of their culture Gunaratne writes about the underbelly of the prosperous in London With clear insight the nar Nom [...]

Longlisted for Booker Prize 2018, Shortlisted for Goldsmith prize 2018 For those of us who had an elsewhere in our blood, some foreign origin, we had richer colours and ancient callings to hear For those of us who had an elsewhere in our blood, some foreign origin, we had richer colours and ancient callings to hear.I finished this than two weeks ago but I struggled to write a review Unfortunately, this was one of those books that I know it s well written and with literary and sociologic m [...]

Each of us were caught in the same swirl, all held together with our own small furies in this single mad, monstrous and lunatic city I re read this book following its shortlisting for the 2018 Goldsmith Prize something which caught me a little by surprise I have augmented my review and upgraded my ranking on reflection I think this is the book that should have won the Booker and definitely should have been shortlisted but the Goldsmith seems a stretch too far as it lacks the formal innov [...]

Exceptional I hope this book blows up and becomes huge because really, it deserves to be.Alternating the perspectives of three London teenagers and two of their parents, it dials the pressure and momentum up, up, up with ever shorter chapters as the events of the book escalate and yes, it s furious Set over two days in a London housing estate under a gathering storm cloud of racial tensions, the violent struggle is both timely and timeless Brexit and its associated wave of anti immigrant sent Ex [...]

Shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize 2018Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2018This year s Booker longlist undoubtedly contained some big surprises I can t defend all of them but, like Milkman, The Long Take and Everything Under, this extraordinary and vibrant picture of modern London was not on my radar before the list was announced, and I would love to see all four of them shortlisted.The bleak setting is the Stones estate, a group of tower blocks in north London with a richly multicultural [...]

Nominated for the Goldsmiths Prize 2018Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2018This book is going to win the Booker update No it didn t, which of course only means that the judges were wrong Set in London, the story discusses identity, a topic that is central for so many current political issues, from Brexit to the divided States of America, to globalization, religous conflicts, you name it On top of that, the language is vivid and fresh, and Gunaratne finds many compelling images that Nominated [...]

Book Reviewed by Clive on whisperingstoriesMy initial reactions to this book were what do these words mean and what is going on The first question was because the narrative is written from the perspective of half a dozen very different characters of which four are teenagers from inner London, whose everyday language is very much of the street During the early chapters I found urbandictionary very handy but as the book progressed I became comfortable with the terms.My s Book Reviewed by Clive on [...]