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A review by nickymaund
New Boy by Tracy Chevalier
4.0
Despite this being set in a school for children on the cusp of middle school (that’s 11yrs old for those not on the know), this is very much a story for adults. This is part of the Hogarth Shakespeare project - where well known novelists re-tell a selection of Shakespeare’s plays. This particular offering is a retelling of Othello.
In Chevalier’s retelling set in the 1970s, she brings Osei (known as “O”) as the new boy in the last term of school, he’s also the son of a diplomat from Ghana and his new school is very white. Very, very white. Multiple viewpoints show you how O’s arrival quickly affects the equilibrium of the students and staff, as the ripples of racism, fear, jealousy, friendship, obsession and the relationships for all over the course of one single day.
Whilst I flew through this audiobook (excellently narrated by Onayemi), Chevalier covers many themes, many of which are more of a mature nature. And there’s a vast array of characters who add multi-layered depth to their own responses; the teacher affected by his time serving in the war, the school bully affected by an abusive parent, the newcomer who is wise beyond his years and encounters racism at every turn, the one person that he befriends and starts to like, but the said bully has other ideas.
⚠️TW: references to racism, domestic abuse, bullying and questionable behaviour on the playground ⚠️
In Chevalier’s retelling set in the 1970s, she brings Osei (known as “O”) as the new boy in the last term of school, he’s also the son of a diplomat from Ghana and his new school is very white. Very, very white. Multiple viewpoints show you how O’s arrival quickly affects the equilibrium of the students and staff, as the ripples of racism, fear, jealousy, friendship, obsession and the relationships for all over the course of one single day.
Whilst I flew through this audiobook (excellently narrated by Onayemi), Chevalier covers many themes, many of which are more of a mature nature. And there’s a vast array of characters who add multi-layered depth to their own responses; the teacher affected by his time serving in the war, the school bully affected by an abusive parent, the newcomer who is wise beyond his years and encounters racism at every turn, the one person that he befriends and starts to like, but the said bully has other ideas.
⚠️TW: references to racism, domestic abuse, bullying and questionable behaviour on the playground ⚠️