In Our Mad and Furious City by Guy Gunaratne - 3 stars (Subdue)

[Joy D]

In Our Mad and Furious City by Guy Gunaratne - 3* - My Review

This novel is one of multiple voices of five characters living in London. We have two forty-somethings, Caroline from Northern Ireland, and Nelson from Monserrat, and three young men born in England to immigrant parents: Ardan, Selvon, and Yusuf. Ardan is a street musician (rap and grime), Selvon is obsessed with his athletic training, and Yusuf serves as a liaison with his Muslim community. Yusuf’s brother has recently brought shame on his family, and he narrates a few short segments. It is structured in rotating narratives among the characters, providing their backstories and interactions. Early on, we learn that a British soldier has been killed, and backlash is expected.

It is told in first person present tense by each narrator. The manner of storytelling provides a good sense of the area in which they live and what they face on an everyday basis. They are expected to “take sides” and it is increasingly difficult to avoid confrontations. It is infused with idioms, slang, and patois of their multicultural neighborhood. It is dominated by the characters until the plot takes over, and it is obvious from the start that the novel is headed toward a violent ending.

This book addresses many contemporary issues such as social class, fundamentalism, radicalism, xenophobia, poverty, anger, intolerance, and clashes between groups with different ethnicities and ideologies. I appreciated it and am glad I read it, but it was slow going in the first half for me, and I never felt fully immersed in it. I felt more like a detached observer.