Book Review: Gabriel Krauze - Who They Was (published in 2020)

 

Congrats on the Man Booker nomination! 

It took a long time for me to get into this novel. It's always the same when I read books written with an accent. I'm talking of books like @thesevenkillings by Marlon James and all of Irvine Welsh' books.

What They Was is written in London South Kilburn slang. As I said, it took some getting used to but it's pretty easy to read once you get the hang of a few of the most common words.

This is such an odd story. The premise itself isn't really. It's about a neighbourhood filled with low income houses and crime. We all know the (often) unrealistic stories told by people who "visit or go undercover". This story, however, is told from Gabriel Krauze's own experience growing up in this neighbourhood. He gives us the ins and outs of his criminal activities. His story is a bit of a peculiar one because while he was selling & taking drugs and killing people, he was studying English Literature at the university.

This contrast feels a bit insane and makes it a pretty interesting read. I gave it this rating because I felt it wasn't fully for me. I enjoyed his story, I even shuddered at it. I didn't find myself taking it all in though, I was in it to finish it.

I'm curious to see if this book makes the Man Booker short list. I'm not one to judge as I've only read two books of the long list so far. 

Many thanks to the publisher 4th Estate and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy!

3 stars

Statistics:

Date read: August 19, 2020

Date published: September 3, 2020

Publisher: 4th Estate

Format: eBook

Pages: 336

Genre: Non-Fiction

My Number of Books Read by this Author: 1

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