ONE OF THE OBSERVER'S 10 MUST-READ DEBUT NOVELISTS OF 2022A GUARDIAN NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2022SOHO HOUSE BREAKTHROUGH WRITER AWARD 2022 WINNERSHORTLISTED FOR THE WRITERS' GUILD BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2023'A rare glimpse into the harsh realities of street life and love in luminous prose, rendered with sensitivity and without sentimentalism. An astonishing debut' Cherie Jones, author of HOW THE ONE-ARMED SISTER SWEEPS HER HOUSESayon Hughes, a young Black man from Bristol, dreams of a world far removed from the one in which he was raised. Far removed from the torn slips outside the bookie's, the burnt spoons and the crooked solutions his community embraces; most of all, removed from the Christianity of his uncaring parents and the prejudice of law-makers.Growing up, Sayon found respite from the chaos of his environment in the love and loyalty of his brother-in-arms, Cuba; in the example of his cousin Hakim, a man once known as the most infamous drug-dealer in their neighbourhood, now a proselytising Muslim; and in the tenderness of his girl, Shona, whose own sense of purpose galvanises Sayon's. In return, Sayon wants to give the people he loves the world: a house atop a grand hill in the most affluent area of the city, a home in which they can forever find joy and safety. But after an altercation in which a boy is killed, Sayon finds his loyalties torn and his dream of a better life in peril.MORE PRAISE FOR AN OLIVE GROVE IN ENDS:'Announcing the arrival of a promising 23-year-old author whose work is wise beyond his years' GUARDIAN'A remarkable debut, bristling with sharp prose and daring originality' Nathan Harris, author of THE SWEETNESS OF WATER'A phenomenally good novel, tense and thrilling and complex, with breath-stealing moments on every page' Donal Ryan, author of THE SPINNING HEART'This consummately crafted work can only be a harbinger of a stellar and truly significant career. I urge you to read it' Patrick McCabe, author of THE BUTCHER BOY'Engrossing . . . A tough yet tender story of faith and friendship' OBSERVER
CONTRIBUTORS: Moses McKenzie
EAN: 9781472283115
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
PAGES:
WEIGHT: 535 g
HEIGHT: 236 cm
PUBLISHED BY: Headline Publishing Group
DATE PUBLISHED:
CITY:
GENRE: FICTION / Literary, FICTION / Urban & Street Lit, FICTION / City Life, POETRY / Caribbean & Latin American
WIDTH: 158 cm
SPINE:
Book Themes:
Bristol, Relating to Black British Caribbean people, Street fiction / urban fiction
What struck me most forcibly about An Olive Grove in Ends was the poetic strength and majesty of its prose - as the author himself might have it, 'like clarified honey'. From an author of such tender years - he is yet but twenty-two - this consummately crafted work can only be a harbinger of a stellar and truly significant career. I urge you to read it, [An Olive Grove in Ends] is magnificent. Moses' talent is off the scale. I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately and it's a long time since a novel gripped me so tightly . . . This is a phenomenally good novel, tense and thrilling and complex, with breath-stealing moments on every page. And the language. Oh, man., An Olive Grove in Ends chronicles the hard graft and grit of ghetto life in a poignant coming-of-age story rendered in the crackling song of a multi-ethnic UK street. McKenzie offers a rare glimpse into the harsh realities of street life and love in luminous prose, rendered with sensitivity and without sentimentalism. An astonishing debut novel about which I'll be talking to everyone!, His engrossing first-person narrative, lyrical and slangy by turns, is the vehicle for a tough yet tender story of faith and friendship, as well as money, knife crime and the failings of the British education system, A remarkable debut, bristling with sharp prose and daring originality. Moses McKenzie offers us a fascinating glimpse into the vibrant world of Ends, whose colourful inhabitants - Sayon in particular - will linger with readers long after the novel comes to a close.
Moses McKenzie is of Caribbean descent and grew up in Bristol, where he still lives and writes full-time. An Olive Grove in Ends is his first novel.
Book Partnerships
For the Fans