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tlaynejones's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Wow. I first heard about this book from a rave review by Yassmin Abdel-Magied. I’m so glad for the heads up. This book grabbed me and kept me feeling entertained and profoundly challenged from beginning to end. It’s intense, very violent, reflective, moving and sometimes funny. I listened to the audiobook, which is read by the author. Thankfully he did a great job, as I’m not sure if I would have enjoyed, or even understood the book if I had tried to read the print version. The prose is written in the language of the South Kilburn Estate in London. This is so different to the English that I speak that without the inflection and expression of the audio, it may have seemed too opaque. I appreciated the author’s pov in exploring assumptions, bias, and general understanding around class, crime, and criminal motivations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Violence, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, and Murder