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w8godot32's review against another edition
4.0
Nadifa Mohamed's Booker Prize-nominated "The Fortune Men" is based on the true story of a man wrongfully convicted of murder and executed in Cardiff, Wales in 1952. Mahmood Mattan was a Somali sailor and small-time thief who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time in the wrong color of skin. Violet Volacki, a 40 year old Jewish shopkeeper, had her throat slit one night as her family was in the other room. There were no true witnesses, Mahmood had alibis, and any evidence against him was as flimsy as it was convenient for the police.
The opening of the book illustrates the port of Cardiff in colorful detail. Mahmood roams the streets and is portrayed as a mysterious and slightly unsavory character. Once he is arrested, though, we gravitate toward him. He is rebellious and snaps at the police-- he knows he is innocent, after all. At his core is the central belief that truth has to win out. Later, once he clearly sees the writing on the wall, he shows his concern and love for his three young sons when he makes his wife promise to nurture the account that their father had simply been lost at sea, thus sparing any further disgrace.
In 1998, forty-six years after Mahmood's hanging, the British courts overturned his conviction. It was determined that the one witness putting him at the scene of the crime had been pressured by the police and lured by the promise of a reward. Mahmood's name was finally cleared, if decades too late for him and his family.
"The Fortune Men" arrives with every historical spoiler alert. The man is executed in one of history's more notorious injustices. The magic of the book lies in Nadifa Mohamed's vivid depiction of the people whose lives were sucked into this tragedy. Thank you to Knopf Doubleday, NetGalley and Nadifa Mohamed for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
The opening of the book illustrates the port of Cardiff in colorful detail. Mahmood roams the streets and is portrayed as a mysterious and slightly unsavory character. Once he is arrested, though, we gravitate toward him. He is rebellious and snaps at the police-- he knows he is innocent, after all. At his core is the central belief that truth has to win out. Later, once he clearly sees the writing on the wall, he shows his concern and love for his three young sons when he makes his wife promise to nurture the account that their father had simply been lost at sea, thus sparing any further disgrace.
In 1998, forty-six years after Mahmood's hanging, the British courts overturned his conviction. It was determined that the one witness putting him at the scene of the crime had been pressured by the police and lured by the promise of a reward. Mahmood's name was finally cleared, if decades too late for him and his family.
"The Fortune Men" arrives with every historical spoiler alert. The man is executed in one of history's more notorious injustices. The magic of the book lies in Nadifa Mohamed's vivid depiction of the people whose lives were sucked into this tragedy. Thank you to Knopf Doubleday, NetGalley and Nadifa Mohamed for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
sshaunaellis's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
lambsears's review against another edition
3.0
A well-written novel based entirely around the real lives involved in the arrest for murder, the false imprisonment and execution of Mahmood Mattan, an innocent man, in Cardiff, in the 1950s.
While it told me much about the rich multiculturalism of Wales at the time (I certainly had no idea of the cultural diversity of this region), it is also bleak, claustrophobic and deeply sad, even more so once I finished it and googled the rest of the story. Mattan's family went on to endure much discrimination, and the conviction was not overturned for 40 years.
While it told me much about the rich multiculturalism of Wales at the time (I certainly had no idea of the cultural diversity of this region), it is also bleak, claustrophobic and deeply sad, even more so once I finished it and googled the rest of the story. Mattan's family went on to endure much discrimination, and the conviction was not overturned for 40 years.
emily_ford16's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Murder
arrianne's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, Blood, and Murder
thebobsphere's review against another edition
4.0
The setting of Nadifa Mohamed’s The Fortune Men is Tiger Bay, Cardiff, 1952. Back in the day Tiger Bay was a port and a cultural melting pot ( including a Maltese community, and we do crop up in the book occasionally). The book’s plot is a retelling of an actual event where a Somali man, Mahmood Mattan, was falsely convicted, and subsequently hanged, for murdering a Polish shopkeeper.
In amateur hands this would just be a straight on thriller but Nadifa Mohamed adds so many depths and layers that The Fortune Men just transcends being a true crime tale.
First of all the book concentrates a lot on atmosphere: There’s a lot of passages dedicated to life on Tiger Bay from the main protagonist’s point of view: the shops, the bars, his gambling habits, the various characters Mahmood meets, even a glimpse of his cramped living quarters. We also get a second point of view from the Polish shopkeeper’s family and we see how slightly more moneyed people lived at the time.
As Mahmood is a Somali he is subjected to racism. People beat him up, refuse to help him or even do their best to avoid him. As we move towards his trial, despite being innocent, we readers see how racism is ingrained in people’s minds. In fact one person tells Mahmood that everything is fair in the eyes of justice but the reality sinks in that justice is only fair if your skin is so.
Immigration is another topic. Both Mahmood and the Polish family think about life in their homeland and how they felt like strangers so they had to move out to a country where they would stick out even more. It is ironic but sometimes in order to feel comfortable one has to be among strangers.
As in keeping with themes found in this year’s Booker Longlist, dependence on God features. In The Fortune Men Mahmood believes firmly that his faith in God with set him free and make the judge and jury realise that he is innocent. This is not so. Mahmood then feels that God has failed him. In a way the opposite scenario happens in the other longlisted book, Klara and the Sun , where the main protagonist prays to the Sun (God) for help and it actually happens. Incidentally I am one hour in of watching Milos Forman’s Amadeus for the first time and it is also about someone who wants God to punish Mozart for being a loud and uncouth person but when that fails the person loses his faith. I guess that God works in mysterious ways and that faith can be tested.
As for my impressions on the book; it’s excellent. I thought the writing style was vibrant, I liked the characters, I felt like I was a part of Tiger Bay. When that happens, I know I’m know I’m reading a special book. I can definitely see The Fortune Men as shortlisted and , dare I say, that it will feature in next year’s Women’s Prize. To hit my point in a bit more, The Fortune Men is a fantastic novel.
In amateur hands this would just be a straight on thriller but Nadifa Mohamed adds so many depths and layers that The Fortune Men just transcends being a true crime tale.
First of all the book concentrates a lot on atmosphere: There’s a lot of passages dedicated to life on Tiger Bay from the main protagonist’s point of view: the shops, the bars, his gambling habits, the various characters Mahmood meets, even a glimpse of his cramped living quarters. We also get a second point of view from the Polish shopkeeper’s family and we see how slightly more moneyed people lived at the time.
As Mahmood is a Somali he is subjected to racism. People beat him up, refuse to help him or even do their best to avoid him. As we move towards his trial, despite being innocent, we readers see how racism is ingrained in people’s minds. In fact one person tells Mahmood that everything is fair in the eyes of justice but the reality sinks in that justice is only fair if your skin is so.
Immigration is another topic. Both Mahmood and the Polish family think about life in their homeland and how they felt like strangers so they had to move out to a country where they would stick out even more. It is ironic but sometimes in order to feel comfortable one has to be among strangers.
As in keeping with themes found in this year’s Booker Longlist, dependence on God features. In The Fortune Men Mahmood believes firmly that his faith in God with set him free and make the judge and jury realise that he is innocent. This is not so. Mahmood then feels that God has failed him. In a way the opposite scenario happens in the other longlisted book, Klara and the Sun , where the main protagonist prays to the Sun (God) for help and it actually happens. Incidentally I am one hour in of watching Milos Forman’s Amadeus for the first time and it is also about someone who wants God to punish Mozart for being a loud and uncouth person but when that fails the person loses his faith. I guess that God works in mysterious ways and that faith can be tested.
As for my impressions on the book; it’s excellent. I thought the writing style was vibrant, I liked the characters, I felt like I was a part of Tiger Bay. When that happens, I know I’m know I’m reading a special book. I can definitely see The Fortune Men as shortlisted and , dare I say, that it will feature in next year’s Women’s Prize. To hit my point in a bit more, The Fortune Men is a fantastic novel.
daja57's review against another edition
5.0
In 1952, Tiger Bay in Swansea is a melting pot of different nationalities; there are tensions between the indigenous white community and those they describe as 'black'. Somali Mahmood Mattan has married a white woman and fathered three sons but now, unemployed and a gambler with a criminal record for petty theft, he is separated. So, when local shopkeeper and money-lender Violet is found murdered, the police arrest Mahmood. This novel, based on a real case, and told in the present tense, mostly from the third-person perspective of Mahmood, chronicles what happens next.
It is beautifully written and explores Mahmood's life growing up in what was the British Somaliland and later became a merchant seaman, working in the engine room and travelling all over the world, before settling in Tiger Bay. The descriptions of the multi-cultural communities in Tiger Bay is also fascinating.
I found it a little slow at the beginning but towards the end I was page-turningly desperate to find out what happened.
My only criticism is, as regular readers of my blog will guess, the use of foreign words. Use them, please, to give colour and authenticity. But offer translations as footnotes or a glossary.
It is beautifully written and explores Mahmood's life growing up in what was the British Somaliland and later became a merchant seaman, working in the engine room and travelling all over the world, before settling in Tiger Bay. The descriptions of the multi-cultural communities in Tiger Bay is also fascinating.
I found it a little slow at the beginning but towards the end I was page-turningly desperate to find out what happened.
My only criticism is, as regular readers of my blog will guess, the use of foreign words. Use them, please, to give colour and authenticity. But offer translations as footnotes or a glossary.
cpoole91's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0