IN OUR MAD AND FURIOUS CITY follows three young men on a London council estate over two days when suddenly everything is at stake
'Original, honest voices and a vivid portrayal of a London rarely seen in literature' Paula Hawkins
IN OUR MAD AND FURIOUS CITY is 'a love letter to London's streets' (Stylist): an unforgettable portrait of 48 hours in the life of a housing estate, it was one of the most talked-about debuts of 2018 and will be devoured by fans of THIS IS ENGLAND or THE BRICKS THAT BUILT THE HOUSES.
For Selvon, Ardan and Yusuf, growing up under the towers of Stones Estate, summer means what it does anywhere: football, music and freedom. But now, after the killing of a British soldier, riots are spreading across the city, and nowhere is safe.
While the fury swirls around them, Selvon and Ardan remain focused on their own obsessions, girls and grime. Their friend Yusuf is caught up in a different tide, a wave of radicalism surging through his local mosque, threatening to carry his troubled brother, Irfan, with it.
Provocative, raw, poetic yet tender, IN OUR MAD AND FURIOUS CITY marks the arrival of a major new talent in fiction.
(P)2018 Headline Publishing Group Ltd
A beautiful, fierce storm of a book, full of courage and hope
A vivid portrayal of a London rarely seen in literature
Guy's characters are drawn with compassion and flair, and I was captivated by their humanity
What a voice. What an ear for language. No mean feat, to capture the street, the nuance of black experience, the architecture of so many different lives. It's a brave and original piece of work
Guy Gunaratne is the author of IN OUR MAD AND FURIOUS CITY, which won the International Dylan Thomas Prize, the Jhalak Prize and the Author's Club First Novel Award, as well as being shortlisted for the Goldsmith's and Gordon Burn, and longlisted for the Orwell Prize and the Booker. Their most recent novel is MISTER, MISTER. They are a Trustee on the Board of English PEN, and have been a judge for the Goldsmiths Prize and for the Folio Prize. In 2019, the Financial Times included them in its list of the '30 Most Exciting Young People on the Planet'.