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SOCIETY WITHIN takes us back to the Greenside Estate, West London, scene of Courttia Newland’s ground-breaking and hugely successful first novel, THE SCHOLAR. Newly arrived on the estate is Elisha: sweet, bright, sassy and just eighteen. As Elisha negotiates some new territory with more than fair share of dark corners, we take in the vividly interlocking lives of the other Greensiders: cool, ambitious Valerie, with some bad secrets to deal with; Little Stacey, looking for his first girl; Orin, dealing, stealing and trying to stay away from anything too lethal.
Courttia Newland tells gripping stories from real lives – stories of dreamers and fighters, love and revenge, friendship and betrayal – in a language burning with energy, originality and conviction.
Courttia Newland tells gripping stories from real lives – stories of dreamers and fighters, love and revenge, friendship and betrayal – in a language burning with energy, originality and conviction.
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Reviews
Consolidates his position as one of Britain's most important young black novelists ... a truly gifted storyteller
Should have Irvine Welsh weeping into his overhyped beer
Masterful ... Warm & witty ... an impressive achievement
Fairly crackles with depictions of teenage temptations ... after the whitewash better known as NOTTING HILL, the antidote couldn't be better timed
This is a real life story that comes with pain and dreams, friends and lovers, trust and betrayal and despair and hope
Pulls no punches in its description of estate life as a mixture of community and ghetto ... his strength lies in the depiction of violence and menace
Plenty of local dialect, bags of intrigue and characters you've sat next to on the bus. Moreish
"Young, gifted and black!" If the phrase hadn't already been kicking around for a few decades it would have been invented for Courttia Newland ... Newland has held up a mirror to a part of our society that many people, especially those in the literary world, would otherwise not know about - or would maybe like to forget about
Newland has a sharp curiosity that gives him both a maturity beyond his years and an energy that reinforces his youth