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In a community where poverty is kept close and passed from one generation to the next, two teenage boys, best friends, stand on top of twin tower blocks. Facing each other across the abyss of London's urban sprawl, they say their good-byes and jump. One dies. The other, alternating with the sister of the deceased, narrates this novel. James gives us a window into the inner city -- his mom is a crack addict, his gang "brothers" force him to kill another black boy. Meina describes with feeling her family history in Somalia: after her parents are killed before her eyes, her village aunt sells her to six husbands -- before she is even a teenager. Desperate to rebuild their lives, James and Meina set out to find the place for which every child longs -- home.
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Previews available in: English
Subjects
Fiction, Poor, Race relations, Somalis, Suicidal behavior, Teenagers, Refugees, Literature, Suicide, Domestic fiction, New York Times reviewed, Fiction, general, Man-woman relationships, fiction, London (england), fiction, Young women, fiction, MulticulturalismPlaces
England, London, London (England)Showing 8 featured editions. View all 8 editions?
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Forest gate: a novel
2010, Free Press
in English
- 1st Free Press trade pbk. ed.
143917217X 9781439172179
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Forest gate: a novel
2010, Free Press
in English
- 1st Free Press trade pbk. ed.
143917217X 9781439172179
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Forest Gate
2009, Random House Publishing Group
Electronic resource
in English
1409076075 9781409076070
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Book Details
Edition Notes
Originally published: London : Jonathan Cape, 2009. With reading group guide and essay by the author.
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At once personal and authentic, a story of redemptive love set in the midst of London's urban decay. It's 2006 in Forest Gate, East London. Suicides are on the rise as defeated youths make irreversible decisions. In a community where poverty is kept close and passed from one generation to the next, two teenage boys, best friends Ashvin and James, stand on top of twin tower blocks. Facing each other across the abyss of London's urban sprawl, they say final goodbyes in the final stages of a suicide pact. The boys jump together, each with a rope around his neck. Only Ashvin dies. James awakes in hospital, struggling with guilt and faced with his dysfunctional family, a well-meaning psychologist and, eventually, Ashvin's grieving sister Armeina. Forest Gate is narrated by Armeina, a young refugee from Somalia who, with the death of her brother, suffers the loss of her entire family. As she tells the story of her brother's life and seeks to understand why he would kill himself, she finds herself drawn to James. Seeking comfort from each other, and desperate to rebuild their lives, James and Armeina form a special bond and together set out to find a place they can both call home. Set in London, Somalia and Brazil, Peter Akinti's debut is a beautifully wrought, profoundly affecting and sometimes violent novel rich in the true history of our time. As he confronts the daily trauma that confronts teenagers brought together from all over the world to London, Akinti's writing radiates honesty, an uncompromising clarity, and a refreshingly original voice. Armeina and James's journey towards life through their past is, ultimately, a powerful story of redemptive love.
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- Created July 26, 2011
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October 23, 2020 | Edited by Drini | Merge works |
July 22, 2019 | Edited by MARC Bot | remove fake subjects |
October 8, 2017 | Edited by MARC Bot | merge duplicate works of 'Forest gate' |
August 12, 2011 | Edited by ImportBot | add ia_box_id to scanned books |
July 26, 2011 | Created by ImportBot | Imported from Internet Archive item record |