Forest Gate by Peter Akinti

Forest Gate by Peter Akinti

It's 2006 in Forest Gate, East London. Suicides are on the rise as defeated youths make irreversible decisions.In a community where poverty is kept close and passed from one generation to the next, two teenage boys, best friends Ashvin and James, stand on top of twin tower blocks.Facing each other across the abyss of London's urban sprawl, they say final goodbyes in the final stages of a suicide pact. The boys jump together, each with a rope around his neck.Only Ashvin dies. James awakes in hospital, struggling with guilt and faced with his dysfunctional family, a well-meaning psychologist and, eventually, Ashvin's grieving sister Armeina.Forest Gate is narrated by Armeina, a young refugee from Somalia who, with the death of her brother, suffers the loss of her entire family.As she tells the story of her brother's life and seeks to understand why he would kill himself, she finds herself drawn to James.Seeking comfort from each other, and desperate to rebuild their lives, James and Armeina form a special bond and together set out to find a place they can both call home.Set in London, Somalia and Brazil, Peter Akinti's debut is a beautifully wrought, profoundly affecting and sometimes violent novel rich in the true history of our time. As he confronts the daily trauma that confronts teenagers brought together from all over the world to London, Akinti's writing radiates honesty, an uncompromising clarity, and a refreshingly original voice.Armeina and James's journey towards life through their past is, ultimately, a powerful story of redemptive love.

Peter Akinti was born in East London to Nigerian parents. He read law at London University and worked for five years in the Legal Department of HM Treasury in Westminster. He was the founder and editor of Untold magazine, an ID-style monthly for black men. At its height the magazine sold 30,000 copies per month. It folded after seven years. Peter now lives in New York and is working on his second novel.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780224087094
ISBN 10	0224087096
Title	Forest Gate
Author	Peter Akinti
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Vintage Publishing
Year published	2009-03-19
Number of pages	192
Prizes	Short-listed for The South Bank Show Awards: Literature 2010
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable