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echorose202's review
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This author has a way with words - descriptions were very visual and the depth helped me to remember the story in the weeks between picking up this book. What ruined it for me was the blurb tells you the whole plot, there weren't any twists and turns and that took away from the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Death
polyphonic_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
Moderate: Murder
balladofreadingqueer's review
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this book.
I had read about the man who this book is based on a few weeks before I found out this book existed. I know that he had been wrongly executed and only recently posthumously exonerated. This book looks at the life of a Somali immigrant to Wales as he is wrongly accused of the murder of a local Jewish woman shopkeeper.
It explores his nomadic, seafaring life, tumultuous relationship with his white Welsh wife and her family and his friendships and rivals with other Somali immigrants and African immigrants in England/ Wales. It clearly highlights the flaws in the Welsh justice system as he is convicted for a crime he clearly did not commit. The author clearly demonstrates how racism and xenophobia from judges, lawyers and the jury led to his wrongful conviction despite no evidence.
The trial and Mamood’s time in prison are the centre of this book. As he explores his inner life and memories and prepares for execution. His life before arrest is peppered throughout his memories and what happens his family after his wrongful murder by the state are only briefly addressed <\>
It explores his nomadic, seafaring life, tumultuous relationship with his white Welsh wife and her family and his friendships and rivals with other Somali immigrants and African immigrants in England/ Wales. It clearly highlights the flaws in the Welsh justice system as he is convicted for a crime he clearly did not commit. The author clearly demonstrates how racism and xenophobia from judges, lawyers and the jury led to his wrongful conviction despite no evidence.
The trial and Mamood’s time in prison are the centre of this book. As he explores his inner life and memories and prepares for execution. His life before arrest is peppered throughout his memories and what happens his family after his wrongful murder by the state are only briefly addressed <\>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Antisemitism, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Murder
bethvance's review
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Body horror, and Racism
Minor: Colonisation
musubi_mumma's review
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
A colleague recommended this book to me and oh my, do I owe them BIG now! The Fortune Men is devastating in every way. The story, without question, is a profound lesson in the paradoxes and insidiousness of racism, the tragedy of putting faith in a prejudiced judicial system, how thin the line is between life and death, past and future, the awfulness of history.
The novel revolves around a young Somali man who has found his way to Britain and built a life for himself there, complete with a wife and children. He is an ordinary man, a flawed man, but not a bad man; his morals are imperfect but not malicious. In his Welsh town, there is a sundry shop, owned and run by a Jewish woman. She is murdered. He is arrested. The novel spins from that point around his trial and his incarceration.
The details of the crime and his arrest are revealed, it becomes clear that things are not so black and white, literally and figuratively, according to the shade of his skin. In this Welsh neighborhood, there has been the recent in flux of many immigrants: those from the Caribbean — coming off the HMS Windrush — as well others like him, from Somalia, parts of West Africa, Nigeria, South Asians from India, Pakistan. There are Jews, Muslims, Christians. And then there are the White Welsh and English. The only thing they seem to have in common is their denizenship in a working class milieu: they are each trying to survive in their own ways, struggling with the constraints put upon them by their race, the color of their skin, their gender.
Mohamed’s prose weaves together the multiple layers of this crime, both the murder and the crime of injustice via complex characters who each come to this place armed with their own ambitions and hampered by their past experiences; they are as flawed as the main protagonist — and like him, we can see that they are not truly “bad” people, but merely making decisions based on the ethnic, racial, and class based expectations put on them. Reader, you will weep for all the characters in The Fortune Men, for they are as trapped as the prisoner in his cell.
It is hard to write a review of this book without giving away its ending, because its ending is really the beginning of the question that led to its creation. It is based on a true story, which is what makes this even more tragic and heart-rending.
All I can say is: You must read this. You must weep for the man, the woman, his wife, his children, the families torn apart by the events that took place in 1952-1953 in this small Welsh town. And you must be angry.
The novel revolves around a young Somali man who has found his way to Britain and built a life for himself there, complete with a wife and children. He is an ordinary man, a flawed man, but not a bad man; his morals are imperfect but not malicious. In his Welsh town, there is a sundry shop, owned and run by a Jewish woman. She is murdered. He is arrested. The novel spins from that point around his trial and his incarceration.
The details of the crime and his arrest are revealed, it becomes clear that things are not so black and white, literally and figuratively, according to the shade of his skin. In this Welsh neighborhood, there has been the recent in flux of many immigrants: those from the Caribbean — coming off the HMS Windrush — as well others like him, from Somalia, parts of West Africa, Nigeria, South Asians from India, Pakistan. There are Jews, Muslims, Christians. And then there are the White Welsh and English. The only thing they seem to have in common is their denizenship in a working class milieu: they are each trying to survive in their own ways, struggling with the constraints put upon them by their race, the color of their skin, their gender.
Mohamed’s prose weaves together the multiple layers of this crime, both the murder and the crime of injustice via complex characters who each come to this place armed with their own ambitions and hampered by their past experiences; they are as flawed as the main protagonist — and like him, we can see that they are not truly “bad” people, but merely making decisions based on the ethnic, racial, and class based expectations put on them. Reader, you will weep for all the characters in The Fortune Men, for they are as trapped as the prisoner in his cell.
It is hard to write a review of this book without giving away its ending, because its ending is really the beginning of the question that led to its creation. It is based on a true story, which is what makes this even more tragic and heart-rending.
All I can say is: You must read this. You must weep for the man, the woman, his wife, his children, the families torn apart by the events that took place in 1952-1953 in this small Welsh town. And you must be angry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Classism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Murder, and Police brutality
kaymcardle67's review
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Racism
nialiversuch's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Classism, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Blood, Grief, Murder, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Cursing
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Antisemitism
deedireads's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
The Fortune Men is a novel based on a true story that occasionally drags a bit, but ultimately does a lot of things well. Once you hit the second half, though, it really takes off.
For you if: You like literary historical fiction based on real events.
FULL REVIEW:
The Fortune Men is my last read of the 2021 Booker Prize shortlist. I’m not sure I would have shortlisted it, myself, but I did ultimately walk away glad I read it.
This novel is based on the true story of Mahmood Mattan, who was wrongly accused of brutally murdering a Jewish woman shopkeeper, and the last person to be executed in Cardiff, Wales. Nadifa Mohamed brings to life his gritty character, the way racism and xenophobia touched every part of his existence, his interracial marriage, his dreams as a father, and his heartbreaking (misplaced) faith in the British justice system.
Things I really liked about this book: The dual POVs, which introduced us to the murdered woman and her family, and their own experiences with persecution. The handling of Mahmood’s troubled marriage and how the author gave it such nuance and heart. And pretty much the whole second half, which became more focused and faster paced.
As for the first half of the book, there was just something a bit detached, and slower-paced stretches that I wanted to love but never clicked for me. Pretty much everyone at book club felt similarly, but we all agreed that the ending was so engaging that by the time we finished, we’d forgiven our struggle with the first half.
So while this wasn’t my favorite ever, I would definitely be open to reading more of Nadifa Mohamed in the future.
TL;DR REVIEW:
The Fortune Men is a novel based on a true story that occasionally drags a bit, but ultimately does a lot of things well. Once you hit the second half, though, it really takes off.
For you if: You like literary historical fiction based on real events.
FULL REVIEW:
The Fortune Men is my last read of the 2021 Booker Prize shortlist. I’m not sure I would have shortlisted it, myself, but I did ultimately walk away glad I read it.
This novel is based on the true story of Mahmood Mattan, who was wrongly accused of brutally murdering a Jewish woman shopkeeper, and the last person to be executed in Cardiff, Wales. Nadifa Mohamed brings to life his gritty character, the way racism and xenophobia touched every part of his existence, his interracial marriage, his dreams as a father, and his heartbreaking (misplaced) faith in the British justice system.
Things I really liked about this book: The dual POVs, which introduced us to the murdered woman and her family, and their own experiences with persecution. The handling of Mahmood’s troubled marriage and how the author gave it such nuance and heart. And pretty much the whole second half, which became more focused and faster paced.
As for the first half of the book, there was just something a bit detached, and slower-paced stretches that I wanted to love but never clicked for me. Pretty much everyone at book club felt similarly, but we all agreed that the ending was so engaging that by the time we finished, we’d forgiven our struggle with the first half.
So while this wasn’t my favorite ever, I would definitely be open to reading more of Nadifa Mohamed in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Racism
the_bitchy_booker's review against another edition
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
We should none of us be surprised that colonial British justice isn't as just to its colonized peoples as it is swift to suspect those who aren't as White as the Queen.
This novel is a fictionalized account of the real murder of a Jewish woman in Cardiff, and the miscarriage of justice that followed.
Mahmood, a Somalian living in Britain, a husband and the father of three young boys, known for petty crimes such as theft (and disliked by a good number of people) catches the blame as the police find a shocking number of witnesses who say they saw him on the street near the crime that night. His own lawyer calls him a 'semi-civilized savage' in court.
The women who caught a glimpse of the murderer in the actual place it happened said it was not Mahmood. Two of the Crown witnesses gave conflicting accounts of where he was when the murder happened. One of them tried to bribe his mother in law to give the same false evidence so that they could split the reward money tied to a conviction. There was not one shred of physical evidence linking him to the crime.
<Spoiler> Nevertheless, he is found guilty and sentenced to death, and every appeal is denied. The end of the novel contains a postscript that it took decades for his family to have the verdict overturned. It shadowed all their lives, and the murder was never solved.
Because Mahmood is illiterate and speaks broken English, people who take the time to really talk to him, including me if I'm being honest, are surprised by how smart he is. The novel brilliantly juxtaposes his imperfect speech, and how that makes you think about who he is, with the depth and lyricism of his inner thoughts.
We are taken along as he feels optimism, grief, betrayal, anger, peace, a kind of spiritual meaning, and finally abject fear in the face of what's happening to him. The end of the novel is truly difficult to read; the suddenness with which it all ends mirroring the drop at the end of the hangman's noose which, despite all the reflecting he has done, was inexorably beside him from the moment he was pronounced guilty, secreted behind a hidden door, always waiting and never more than a few paces away.
Could this novel win the Booker? It's timely fictionalized history, so maybe! (Please don't spoil me I haven't looked up the winner yet).
TW for execution by hanging, murder, passing reference to rape.
This novel is a fictionalized account of the real murder of a Jewish woman in Cardiff, and the miscarriage of justice that followed.
Mahmood, a Somalian living in Britain, a husband and the father of three young boys, known for petty crimes such as theft (and disliked by a good number of people) catches the blame as the police find a shocking number of witnesses who say they saw him on the street near the crime that night. His own lawyer calls him a 'semi-civilized savage' in court.
The women who caught a glimpse of the murderer in the actual place it happened said it was not Mahmood. Two of the Crown witnesses gave conflicting accounts of where he was when the murder happened. One of them tried to bribe his mother in law to give the same false evidence so that they could split the reward money tied to a conviction. There was not one shred of physical evidence linking him to the crime.
<Spoiler> Nevertheless, he is found guilty and sentenced to death, and every appeal is denied. The end of the novel contains a postscript that it took decades for his family to have the verdict overturned. It shadowed all their lives, and the murder was never solved.
Because Mahmood is illiterate and speaks broken English, people who take the time to really talk to him, including me if I'm being honest, are surprised by how smart he is. The novel brilliantly juxtaposes his imperfect speech, and how that makes you think about who he is, with the depth and lyricism of his inner thoughts.
We are taken along as he feels optimism, grief, betrayal, anger, peace, a kind of spiritual meaning, and finally abject fear in the face of what's happening to him. The end of the novel is truly difficult to read; the suddenness with which it all ends mirroring the drop at the end of the hangman's noose which, despite all the reflecting he has done, was inexorably beside him from the moment he was pronounced guilty, secreted behind a hidden door, always waiting and never more than a few paces away.
Could this novel win the Booker? It's timely fictionalized history, so maybe! (Please don't spoil me I haven't looked up the winner yet).
TW for execution by hanging, murder, passing reference to rape.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Rape
marnie17's review
challenging
reflective
tense
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Racism