England is Mine: An Observer Best Debut Novel 2024

Description

'Nicolas Padamsee's subtle, satirical debut smartly explores the reasons frightened teenage boys become dangerous men' Financial Times

'A politically engaged, urgently plotted coming-of-age thriller with a wicket satirical streak' Observer

'Darkly humorous and highly topical' Spectator

'A brilliant dissection of race, identity, masculinity and extremism' Monica Ali

'Heart-breaking . . . captures modern times in the UK perceptively' Peter Doherty, The Libertines

David hates school, where he has been bullied, and has reached sixth form without any friends. Music is the only thing that keeps him going. Inspired by his hero, Karl Williams, he becomes vegan, wears eyeliner and writes song lyrics. But one night onstage Karl Williams accuses Muslims of homophobia and is cancelled. Conflicted by his feelings for his favourite artist and compelled by the conversations he has while playing Call of Duty, David becomes more and more fascinated by the far right's narratives of masculinity in conflict with liberal society.

Living in the same East London borough as David, Hassan has his own problems. He is drifting apart from his childhood friends, Mo and Ibrahim, who drink, blaze skunk and mock him for hanging out at the Muslim youth centre, where he is older than everyone else. Determined to make something of himself, he volunteers for his local mosque and works hard to try to get the grades he needs to go to university.

As these second-generation immigrants struggle for a sense of identity and belonging - amid a wave of online radicalisation and extremism - their fates become inextricably, catastrophically entwined.