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cgreenstein's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I didn't expect to like this, but I did. It also wasn't as bleak as I expected. I read articles about it that said it was uncompromisingly pessimistic, but I didn't find that to be the case-- there are little glimmers in the midst of the violence and debauchery and senseless posturing that did give me hope for some of the characters. As for the ones who did meet bad ends, I honestly really liked how this book handled that; it's different from most other books in that these characters aren't innocents who are unwillingly forced into crime. They experience things that make it harder for them to have a peaceful adult life, definitely, but the men who star in this book engage in violence because they want to, and they don't feel remorse about it. The agency given to the key characters was refreshing; Gabriel and his friends are not misled objects of pity. They are adults who are capable of making choices for themselves, and they freely make choices that result in imprisonment, early death, and emptiness. This book explores those choices and their implications and makes it clear that the "oh, poor so-and-so, their circumstances made a life of crime inevitable" narrative is reductive, dehumanizing, and false. Obviously people commit crimes for a wide range of reasons and due to a complex set of factors, but I appreciate that this book showed that sometimes some people voluntarily choose to be criminals and choose to stay criminals. Not everyone who is in prison is a victim of circumstance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexism, Death, Cursing, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Police brutality, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
tlaynejones's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Wow. I first heard about this book from a rave review by Yassmin Abdel-Magied. I’m so glad for the heads up. This book grabbed me and kept me feeling entertained and profoundly challenged from beginning to end. It’s intense, very violent, reflective, moving and sometimes funny. I listened to the audiobook, which is read by the author. Thankfully he did a great job, as I’m not sure if I would have enjoyed, or even understood the book if I had tried to read the print version. The prose is written in the language of the South Kilburn Estate in London. This is so different to the English that I speak that without the inflection and expression of the audio, it may have seemed too opaque. I appreciated the author’s pov in exploring assumptions, bias, and general understanding around class, crime, and criminal motivations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Violence, and Drug use
Minor: Misogyny, Murder, Animal cruelty, Racism, Addiction, Gun violence, and Child abuse
iris_lpb's review
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual violence
ameliasbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, and Vomit
deedireads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- 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:
Who They Was is autofiction that doesn’t make for an easy read, but it’s nothing if not unique — and effective in what it set out to do.
For you if: You won’t get thrown by reading in dialect, and you’re more interested in craft than plot.
FULL REVIEW:
Wow, okay. I read Who They Was because it was longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, which is great because I probably never would have picked it up on my own. It’s autofiction, a fictionalized version of the author’s life on the violent streets of London … while he earned a university degree on the side.
This book is definitely like nothing else I’ve read before. First of all, the prose is wildly impressive. It’s written in the style of language that Krauze and his characters speak every day, a sort of dialect all its own. It’s got incredible momentum, and Krauze is insanely skilled at dropping you right inside his head. The challenge of the book is that it’s almost entirely plotless, shapeless. It’s more of a stream of consciousness and long, somewhat repetitive account of his life than a novel. It’s also, as should be expected, violent and tough to read.
Interestingly, there were several people in book club who said that they liked the book and the writing but also didn’t finish it; they felt like they got what they could out of it in the first half or so. I did finish it, and I’m not sorry that I did, but I also see where they’re coming from. I’d say that this one is definitely worth picking up, but you can’t rush it. You can’t read this one in the three days leading up to book club (as we all learned, lol). It’s too much for that. It’s the kind of book that’s best read a little at a time over the course of a few weeks.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Who They Was is autofiction that doesn’t make for an easy read, but it’s nothing if not unique — and effective in what it set out to do.
For you if: You won’t get thrown by reading in dialect, and you’re more interested in craft than plot.
FULL REVIEW:
Wow, okay. I read Who They Was because it was longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, which is great because I probably never would have picked it up on my own. It’s autofiction, a fictionalized version of the author’s life on the violent streets of London … while he earned a university degree on the side.
This book is definitely like nothing else I’ve read before. First of all, the prose is wildly impressive. It’s written in the style of language that Krauze and his characters speak every day, a sort of dialect all its own. It’s got incredible momentum, and Krauze is insanely skilled at dropping you right inside his head. The challenge of the book is that it’s almost entirely plotless, shapeless. It’s more of a stream of consciousness and long, somewhat repetitive account of his life than a novel. It’s also, as should be expected, violent and tough to read.
Interestingly, there were several people in book club who said that they liked the book and the writing but also didn’t finish it; they felt like they got what they could out of it in the first half or so. I did finish it, and I’m not sorry that I did, but I also see where they’re coming from. I’d say that this one is definitely worth picking up, but you can’t rush it. You can’t read this one in the three days leading up to book club (as we all learned, lol). It’s too much for that. It’s the kind of book that’s best read a little at a time over the course of a few weeks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gun violence
yetanotherbookstagram's review
challenging
dark
slow-paced
1.75
Truthfully, I hated most of this book. I was going to give it one star but I want to acknowledge that there were some good bits of writing throughout and I may have been turned off by all of the London street slang which just made this difficult reading for me as I really never got into the rhythm.
The protagonist writes of his experiences in violent, London gang culture that he actively participates in while simultaneously attending English classes at university. It is very violent, very graphic, and fairly repetitive. I felt like there were passages that I could just skim through without missing anything of this endless stream of consciousness. He really doesn't show any type of remorse or inner conflict over the actions he takes until the very end of the book. Since the book is mostly autobiographical I found myself really frustrated that with the publication of this book the author is now capitalizing on the years he spent dealing drugs, committing robberies and assaults, etc.
Some reviews have said this is an important inside look at what life is really like in that neighborhood so I'll have to take their word for it. If it wasn't a part of a reading challenge I was completing it would have been a DNF.
The protagonist writes of his experiences in violent, London gang culture that he actively participates in while simultaneously attending English classes at university. It is very violent, very graphic, and fairly repetitive. I felt like there were passages that I could just skim through without missing anything of this endless stream of consciousness. He really doesn't show any type of remorse or inner conflict over the actions he takes until the very end of the book. Since the book is mostly autobiographical I found myself really frustrated that with the publication of this book the author is now capitalizing on the years he spent dealing drugs, committing robberies and assaults, etc.
Some reviews have said this is an important inside look at what life is really like in that neighborhood so I'll have to take their word for it. If it wasn't a part of a reading challenge I was completing it would have been a DNF.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Violence
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