Ours are the Streets (Paperback)
Sunjeev Sahota (author)Published: 02/09/2011
From Yorkshire to Afghanistan, Ours are the Streets is a poignant and powerful story of political radicalization by Sunjeev Sahota, author of Man Booker Prize shortlisted The Year of the Runaways.
When Imtiaz Raina leaves England for the first time, to bury his father on his family’s land near Lahore, he exchanges his uncertain life in Sheffield for a road that leads to the mountains of Kashmir and Afghanistan.
Once back in Yorkshire, he writes through the night to his young wife Becka and baby daughter Noor, and tries to explain, in a story full of affection and yearning, what has happened to him – and why he has a devastating new sense of home.
'What Sahota creates is not an exploration of the psyche of a suicide bomber, but an exploration of a man.' – Yorkshire Post
'What is most chilling, and most successful, is that it all seems so familiar, so close and so easy.' – Sunday Times
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 9780330515818
Number of pages: 320
Weight: 220 g
Dimensions: 197 x 130 x 22 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Genuine, poignant . . . A moral work of real intelligence and power. - John Burnside, The Times
What Sahota creates is not an exploration of the psyche of a suicide bomber, but an exploration of a man. - Yorkshire Post
Startling. This book successfully humanizes one of the great demons of contemporary society, and for that, Sunjeev Sahota should be given a high five off the Queen or something. - Dazed and Confused, ‘Book of the Month’
Excruciatingly well-written. - Guardian
Imtiaz’s journey to Pakistan, and his sense of belonging, gives the novel much of its eloquence. Great literary promise. - Independent
The book’s great force lies in its voice: that of a young man straining to express instincts, fears and emotional conflicts, lending his writing a distinctive vibrancy. - Observer
An acute debut. What is most chilling, and most successful, is that it all seems so familiar, so close and so easy. - Sunday Times
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“A compelling Story”
How does someone think and feel when they believe they are an outsider in our society? Sahota's tale is of a radicalised Muslim, telling his story in extended note form. A very thoughtful novel.
“A good piece of writing”
For such a potentially difficult topic, this debut novel was easy to read and moved along at a good pace.
It was thought-provoking without being too heavy. I felt the voice was a genuine one, maybe helped by the fact...
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