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When his dad dies under police arrest after a pub brawl, Cory goes to live with his cousin, Sean. By their late teens the cousins, though close, have chosen different paths. Sean is trying to improve his life through education, whereas Cory has already become involved in petty crime – burglary and dealing E. However, everything changes when Cory stabs a man called Roger after a rave, putting him in hospital. This has grave repercussions for Cory – Roger was supposed to be taking part in an armed robbery with Levi, a notorious crack dealer. Levi now expects Cory to take his place. But Cory breaks his leg during a football match and Sean, unable to find a replacement for his cousin, and desperate to help him, agrees to join in on the robbery himself. However, having entered a world of (apparently) easy money and hard drugs, Sean finds it increasingly hard to return to his previous life as The Scholar……
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Reviews
Vividly rendered...Strong characterisation and richly authentic dialogue
Feisty and real
An exciting, sustained and truthful novel, fine writing and firing dialogue. Courttia Newland knows his people very well
An entertaining and pertinent read
Real tension and suspense... an abosorbing debut from a writer who clearly has important things to say.
As a literary culture we are chronically short of this sort of fiction. Voices like Newland's provide a vital counterpoint to the likes of Bridget Jones
Newland has conjured up a world apart from the one which most Londoners know - a world in which differences are settled with bullets, where flick-knives flash and where people casually threaten "I'm gonna carve you up"
A powerfully written debut novel.
A glimpse into an urban nightmare where violence is casual, drugs are the norm...a freshness in the details and in the dialogue - frighteningly believable.
Convincing ... Newland shows every promise of being able to reflect Britain from a distinctive and unsentimental perspective
If you thought novels about life on desolate council estates have had their day, you obviously haven't heard of Courttia Newland. One of the most in-demand young writers around, his colourful tales about the seedier side of urban Britain have earned him plaudits everywhere. So much so that he's already toured with the likes of Irvine Welsh
The rising star of Brit-lit and chronicler of inner city life ... Newland has acquired a buzz ... his novels cover a section of British society that was not only unrepresented but oddly invisible. The comparison with [Irvine] Welsh is apt for two reasons. First there is a clear parallel in creating new literary language and second, with luck, Newland will open up the world of fiction to a whole new audience
Britain's brightest black writer