Scan barcode
A review by balancinghistorybooks
Ours Are the Streets by Sunjeev Sahota
4.0
I chose Sunjeev Sahota's Ours Are the Streets for the Pakistan stop of my Around the World in 80 Books challenge. I very much enjoyed his novel The Runaways, and was keen to read more of his work. Ours Are the Streets is an extended diary, or series of letters, addressed to the protagonist Imtiaz's family. Sahota discusses many important themes here, from assimilation and interracial differences, to faith and culture. The narrative voice is an engaging and realistic one, and it reminded me somewhat of Mohsin Hamid's fantastic The Reluctant Fundamentalist. I personally enjoyed the non-linear structure, which is comprised of scenes and memories, and which Imtiaz recounts in prose form.
Ours Are the Streets has had very mixed reviews, and most of these tend to come with quite low ratings. I did not feel at all disengaged from the narrative at any point; rather, this is a strong, pertinent, and thoughtful novel, and whilst it is a relatively quick read, there is much to digest once its final page has been turned. There is a lot of emotional depth here, and I found it incredibly powerful.
Ours Are the Streets has had very mixed reviews, and most of these tend to come with quite low ratings. I did not feel at all disengaged from the narrative at any point; rather, this is a strong, pertinent, and thoughtful novel, and whilst it is a relatively quick read, there is much to digest once its final page has been turned. There is a lot of emotional depth here, and I found it incredibly powerful.