"Forest Gate"

I think it is interesting that my review of "Forest Gate" follows my review of "Serpent Gate" but having "gate" in both titles is where the similarity ends. I picked up "Forest Gate," Peter Akinti's first novel, on the "best bets" shelf at my library. It really is a "modern" book and I wondered as the "Jolie-Pitts" were referenced what someone will make of this book 20 or 30 years down the road. Will they know who the "Jolie-Pitts" are?

Author Peter Akinti, of Nigerian ancestry, was raised in Forest Gate, London, so I have made the assumption that, as a black man himself, he knows the difficulties of growing up there. It is an area of London where poverty seems to be handed down from generation to generation and there is a hopelessness among black men -- especially those who want to find a way out.

The story itself centers around three main characters: Ashvin and his sister, Meina, who have come to London from their home in Somalia after their parents were murdered. Mr. Larry Bloom, a white friend of their father's, arranges their passage to England, their entry into the country, and provides support for them to live in a flat on their own in Forest Gate where they attend school.

James Morrison also hails from Forest Gate where all his older brothers are involved in crime and his mother is a crack addict. His father, who is dead, had a girlfriend with a daughter who is a half-sister to James. James wants a way out of Forest Gate and the family crime business.

After James and Ashvin become friends, they make a pact to kill themselves together. However, Ashvin dies while James is only injured. As he is recovering, Meina comes to visit him and a close relationship develops between them. What they discover about each other and the world together, is a true coming of age novel. They both have a lot of loss to face in their young lives and Mr. Bloom is there for both of them as Meina knew he would be.

The book also includes an original essay by the author and reading it helped me understand how he could have come to write a book with such rich detail about life in Forest Gate and what it is like to be a black male in London where racial disparity exists. In his essay, Akinti states: "The British idea of multiculturalism is in fact a dangerous myth. In London, different races may live on top of one another, but we remain separate and often alienated communities."

This book was not particularly a quick read for me but certainly thought-provoking. If you decide to read it, I suggest you start with Akinti's essay (on page 187 of my paperback copy). It's entitled "Forest Of A Thousand Demons" and I believe it is a good prelude to the novel he's written.

pazt