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Pigeon English
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Review
'Simultaneously accurate and fantastical, this boy's love letter to the world made me laugh and tremble all the way through. Pigeon English is a triumph' Emma Donoghue, author of Room
'A powerful and impressive novel ... Kelman knows the world of boys - their language, their humour, their thoughts - and Harri's voice is dazzlingly authentic. Utterly convincing and deeply moving, this is a book that we should all read' Clare Morrall, author of The Man Who Disappeared
'Pigeon English is a book to fall in love with: a funny book, a true book, a shattering book ... If you loved Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time or Emma Donoghue's Man Booker-shortlisted Room, you'll love this book too' Erica Wagner, The Times
'One of the hardest things in fiction is to write from a child's point of view - Kelman does it brilliantly' Alex Clark, Guardian
'A powerful and impressive novel ... Kelman knows the world of boys - their language, their humour, their thoughts - and Harri's voice is dazzlingly authentic. Utterly convincing and deeply moving, this is a book that we should all read' Clare Morrall, author of The Man Who Disappeared
'Pigeon English is a book to fall in love with: a funny book, a true book, a shattering book ... If you loved Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time or Emma Donoghue's Man Booker-shortlisted Room, you'll love this book too' Erica Wagner, The Times
'One of the hardest things in fiction is to write from a child's point of view - Kelman does it brilliantly' Alex Clark, Guardian
Product Description
Newly arrived from Ghana with his mother and older sister, eleven-year-old Harrison Opoku lives on the ninth floor of a block of flats on an inner-city housing estate. The second best runner in the whole of Year 7, Harri races through his new life in his personalised trainers - the Adidas stripes drawn on with marker pen - blissfully unaware of the very real threat all around him. With equal fascination for the local gang - the Dell Farm Crew - and the pigeon who visits his balcony, Harri absorbs the many strange elements of his new life in England: watching, listening, and learning the tricks of urban survival. But when a boy is knifed to death on the high street and a police appeal for witnesses draws only silence, Harri decides to start a murder investigation of his own. In doing so, he unwittingly endangers the fragile web his mother has spun around her family to try and keep them safe. A story of innocence and experience, hope and harsh reality, Pigeon English is a spellbinding portrayal of a boy balancing on the edge of manhood and of the forces around him that try to shape the way he falls.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
82 of 86 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There is an underlying issue with `reviewing' a novel like `Pigeon English' and daring to critique it. It almost makes you wonder should you dare to because the subject matter is a delicate one, in the main it seems that Stephen Kelman took the story of school boy Damiloa Taylor's death and wrote a fictional response about/to it. `Pigeon English is told by eleven year old Harrison Opuku, a young man who is also an immigrant from Ghana now living on one of the tower block council estates in London. This is an area of street gangs, poverty and violence; in fact the novel opens with the death of a school boy who Harrison sort of knew.
Writing in a child's narrative has become something of trend in modern contemporary writing, long before `Room' we had `What Was Lost' (and indeed the theme of child detective comes up in this book as Harrison and his best friend decide to hunt the killer), it is also a hard act to balance when on a tough subject. Can you hold the reader's belief? Does the narrative ring true? Does the simplicity of the voice dilute the events that are happening? Sadly, for me at least, whilst I loved Harrison's view on life, which often made me laugh out loud, it took away the impact of the novel. When you are spending time in the company of this lively witty young man you are also left missing a lot. I never felt I got to know any of the other characters deeply, the other school kids like X-Fire (pronounced Cross Fire) or Killa became almost like cartoon caricatures, his sister and mother has no real back story other than one being the matriarch and the other a bit of a pain. I also felt like there was a whole back story in Ghana I simply didn't know enough about. Oh and I haven't even started on the talking pigeon, something I didn't think was needed or added anything other than making me a bit cross.
I'm aware this sounds harsh, and indeed there are many things that make this book highly readable. Harrison's voice rings true and is a delight, it's a novel very much `of the time' and I it was highly readable - almost too readable for its topic. I wanted Stephen Kelman to give me more though, I wanted the wonderful `council estate whodunit' thread to be more of a story rather than a game/accidental thread/plot device, I wanted to know much more about his mother and what was going on with Ghana. There was a certain vagueness, or maybe it was simply too closed in a horizon which children can have, for me and that turned what could have been a fantastic book into a good one but one that didn't pack any emotional punch for me. If you have read this book then you will know it should have hit home harder all the way through but especially at the ending.
All that said I would recommend `Pigeon English' but maybe not so much for the adult market, and here I think Bloomsbury have missed a bit of a trick. This is a book with a wonderful child's voice that should be being pushed into schools and aimed at a young adult market. In that setting, and with that audience, I honestly think this book would have an incredible impact. I would also recommend this as a good `book group' novel, it's a great one for discussion. Not just for its subject matter, but also for the joys and pitfalls of the child narrator in fiction. I just felt something was missing amongst all the signs of promise.
Writing in a child's narrative has become something of trend in modern contemporary writing, long before `Room' we had `What Was Lost' (and indeed the theme of child detective comes up in this book as Harrison and his best friend decide to hunt the killer), it is also a hard act to balance when on a tough subject. Can you hold the reader's belief? Does the narrative ring true? Does the simplicity of the voice dilute the events that are happening? Sadly, for me at least, whilst I loved Harrison's view on life, which often made me laugh out loud, it took away the impact of the novel. When you are spending time in the company of this lively witty young man you are also left missing a lot. I never felt I got to know any of the other characters deeply, the other school kids like X-Fire (pronounced Cross Fire) or Killa became almost like cartoon caricatures, his sister and mother has no real back story other than one being the matriarch and the other a bit of a pain. I also felt like there was a whole back story in Ghana I simply didn't know enough about. Oh and I haven't even started on the talking pigeon, something I didn't think was needed or added anything other than making me a bit cross.
I'm aware this sounds harsh, and indeed there are many things that make this book highly readable. Harrison's voice rings true and is a delight, it's a novel very much `of the time' and I it was highly readable - almost too readable for its topic. I wanted Stephen Kelman to give me more though, I wanted the wonderful `council estate whodunit' thread to be more of a story rather than a game/accidental thread/plot device, I wanted to know much more about his mother and what was going on with Ghana. There was a certain vagueness, or maybe it was simply too closed in a horizon which children can have, for me and that turned what could have been a fantastic book into a good one but one that didn't pack any emotional punch for me. If you have read this book then you will know it should have hit home harder all the way through but especially at the ending.
All that said I would recommend `Pigeon English' but maybe not so much for the adult market, and here I think Bloomsbury have missed a bit of a trick. This is a book with a wonderful child's voice that should be being pushed into schools and aimed at a young adult market. In that setting, and with that audience, I honestly think this book would have an incredible impact. I would also recommend this as a good `book group' novel, it's a great one for discussion. Not just for its subject matter, but also for the joys and pitfalls of the child narrator in fiction. I just felt something was missing amongst all the signs of promise.
59 of 63 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was given this at work to review for the childrens' website. It was an interesting tale - Harri, an eleven year old boy from Ghana is settling into his new life in the UK. He lives with his mother and slightly older sister. He is the second fastest runner in year 7, he draws the stripes on his 'Adidas' trainers, he is fascinated with the Dell Farm Crew and he is friends with Dean.
When a boy is murdered on his estate, Harri and Dean start to investigate. They collect prints, observe people around their estate and search for the murder weapon. In a world where they don't trust the police, Harri's investigation starts to reach his sister, his friends, the notorious Dell Farm Crew who terrorise his estate and school, and even Harri himself.
This is a gritty and funny book which deals with serious issues. Harri's voice is unique - abrupt, discriminate and innocent all at once. My only gripe is the paragraphs written from a pigeon's perspective which just didn't work for me, but overall, a great read and I would much recommend.
When a boy is murdered on his estate, Harri and Dean start to investigate. They collect prints, observe people around their estate and search for the murder weapon. In a world where they don't trust the police, Harri's investigation starts to reach his sister, his friends, the notorious Dell Farm Crew who terrorise his estate and school, and even Harri himself.
This is a gritty and funny book which deals with serious issues. Harri's voice is unique - abrupt, discriminate and innocent all at once. My only gripe is the paragraphs written from a pigeon's perspective which just didn't work for me, but overall, a great read and I would much recommend.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Finished this last night and it's certainly one of my books of the year! It's told in a properly original voice, and has a really lovable, funny central character in Harri. It's a joy to see the world through his eyes and this is what gives the novel its charm and its power. The author has has also succeeded in creating a cast of memorable and three-dimensional minor characters - for example the local drunk Terry Takeaway with his pit-bull Asbo. All of this draws you into the world of the Peckham gangs, as seen by an 11-year-old boy, and makes the ending truly devastating. Stephen Kelman's done a terrific job, and written something genuinely worthwhile. Thoroughly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Pigeon English...a fly away book
This book was intriguing from the beginning. The story starts with the scene of a young boy's murder. Read more
Published 3 hours ago by Pen Name
Sweet, yet frightening ...
Having read and loved both 'Room' and 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time', I was thus convinced to buy this one by the comment on the back cover saying that I'd... Read more
Published 1 day ago by Karl Jonckheere
An absorbing and touching read
When I saw how many reviews and plaudits this book had I didn't think I needed to add to them,but as a number were critical I felt I would. Read more
Published 14 days ago by R. S. Edwards
This Book is a Scam
This is the worst book I've read in years. I would like my money back.
My book club chose it expecting to learn something about Ghana, and a child's experience in a bicultural... Read more
My book club chose it expecting to learn something about Ghana, and a child's experience in a bicultural... Read more
Published 16 days ago by joan fry
Asweh, it's not even hutious or bo-style
I REALLY wanted to love this book, but I (or it) failed. I just didn't believe the 'voice' of the narrator, Harri. Read more
Published 18 days ago by Roger Risborough
Unreadable
I read a lot of books - really, A LOT...maybe 10 a week. I picked this up because I saw it had been recommended in a local bookshop. Read more
Published 20 days ago by Suzie Pepperell
Its strength is its weakness
An enjoyable book, particularly for its ability to place the reader in intimate contact with a young African boy trying to get to grips with life in London. Read more
Published 24 days ago by K. Egerton
very well written but desperately sad
The style is very clever, original and endearing but the underlying subject matter so deeply traumatic that I could not bring myself to rate it higher.
Published 25 days ago by Nico 13
Really annoying
I have to say I found this book incredibly irritating after only a few pages and the rest of the book was a real chore to finish. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Anthony Mark Pedretti
Very good!
I read this book for my street book club. We all agreed that we all liked it. It very well written and it highlights an interesting point of view on our kids nowadays.
Published 1 month ago by Quartz76
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