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One of Them: An Eton College Memoir (Paperback)
Musa Okwonga (author)Published: 15/04/2021
Musa Okwonga was a Black kid who found himself studying with the privileged white elite at Eton in the 1990s and One of Them is his incisive and cogently argued account of his bittersweet relationship with an institution that did him much good yet seems to have a negative effect on large parts of society.
Musa Okwonga - a young Black man who grew up in a predominantly working-class town - was not your typical Eton College student.
The experience moulded him, challenged him... but also made him wonder why a place that was so good for him also seems to contribute to the harm being done to the UK. The more he searched, the more evident the connection became between one of Britain's most prestigious institutions and the genesis of Brexit, and between his home town in the suburbs of Greater London and the rise of the far right.
Woven throughout this deeply personal and unflinching memoir of Musa's five years at Eton in the 1990s is a present-day narrative which engages with much wider questions about pressing social and political issues: privilege, the distribution of wealth, the rise of the far right in the UK, systemic racism, the 'boys' club' of government and the power of the few to control the fate of the many. One of Them is both an intimate account and a timely exploration of race and class in modern Britain.
Publisher: Unbound
ISBN: 9781783529674
Number of pages: 224
Dimensions: 198 x 129 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'The memoir I've enjoyed most this year' Hilary Mantel 'Moving ... stays with you long after you've finished it' Nigella Lawson 'A superb memoir ... written with a poet's lyricism and a journalist's clarity' Nish Kumar 'An urgent exposition on how [Eton]’s undue influence is shaping political forces - from the current government and Brexit to the rise of nationalist and racist politics' Stylist 'Okwonga is a writer worth waiting half a century for' New Statesman 'Fascinating insight into the workings of one of the most exclusive, secretive and privileged institutions on earth' Robert Verkaik, author of Posh Boys 'Writing that holds and ambushes you in turn ... a portrait of the allure of institutional power' Vinay Patel 'Raw evidence of the power of resilience and determination and hope ... a blistering memoir' Salena Godden 'Frank, fascinating and unique ... essential reading' Hashi Mohamed, author of People Like Us 'A nuanced and complex account' Daily Telegraph
'The memoir I've enjoyed most this year' Hilary Mantel'Moving ... stays with you long after you've finished it' Nigella Lawson'A superb memoir ... written with a poet's lyricism and a journalist's clarity' Nish Kumar'An urgent exposition on how [Eton]'s undue influence is shaping political forces' Stylist'Lyrical, often funny, intensely personal and undeniably thought-provoking' Literary Review'A nuanced and complex account' Daily Telegraph
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“Marvellous. A must read.”
For anyone who wants to understand the British system, the government and its policies, private schools, racism and class but also for anyone who is keen to learn a bit more oneself and wants to hear it in a language... More
“One of them”
Fabulous, couldn’t stop reading this amazing memoir. Fascinating and a insightful read, loved it. Thank you Musa Okwonga
“A collage of engaging fragments”
This is in one way an easy read, because it is written through a series of short fragments which build a picture over time. It is extremely enlightening, although the obvious depictions of arrogance by the... More
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