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A review by anna_hepworth
Ours Are the Streets by Sunjeev Sahota
3.0
Ostensibly a story of radicalisation of a young Muslim man, this covers a lot of emotional ground.
This was a difficult book to read on many levels -- the young man who doesn't fit in in either country that he might consider home, the process of radicalisation, the dysfunctional relationships, and in the end the slow destruction of the young man's sanity. Plus, the writing style -- diary entries ostensibly for his ex-wife and young daughter to read after his death -- managed to be weirdly distancing.
I was intrigued enough by the blurb to pick this up cheaply second hand. And it was certainly worth reading. But I don't think I'm going to want to read it again, and I'm certainly not going to recommend it to people.
This was a difficult book to read on many levels -- the young man who doesn't fit in in either country that he might consider home, the process of radicalisation, the dysfunctional relationships, and in the end the slow destruction of the young man's sanity. Plus, the writing style -- diary entries ostensibly for his ex-wife and young daughter to read after his death -- managed to be weirdly distancing.
I was intrigued enough by the blurb to pick this up cheaply second hand. And it was certainly worth reading. But I don't think I'm going to want to read it again, and I'm certainly not going to recommend it to people.