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Pigeon English

2015 | Children | Young Adult (YA)

There was a ruckus at lunch time. It was the best one so far. Nobody knew why they were fighting ...You actually thought they were going to kill each other. You wanted them to stop. It wasn't funny anymore. Newly arrived from Ghana with his mother and older sister, Harrison Opoku lives on the ninth floor of a block of flats on a London housing estate. The (second) best runner in the whole of Year 7, Harri races through his new life in his personalised trainers - the Adidas stripes drawn on in marker pen - unaware of the danger growing around him. But when a boy is knifed to death on the high street and the police appeal for witnesses draws only silence, Harri decides to start a murder investigation of his own. In doing so, he unwittingly breaks the fragile web his mother has spun around her family to keep them safe, and Harri will come face to face with the very real dangers surrounding him. A powerful, unforgettable tale, importantly relevant for young adult readers of today. Stephen Kelman's 2011 Man-Booker-prize-shortlisted novel has been adapted for the stage by Fringe-First-winner Gbolahan Obisesan (Mad About the Boy).

The stage adaptation received its world premiere at Bristol Old Vic in a Bristol Old Vic Young Company and the National Youth Theatre co-commission on 7 August 2013, before transferring to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.



Published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Edition Unknown
ISBN 9781474251037
Language English
Edition Unknown
ISBN 9781408815687
Language English

Death YA Loss Working class Detective

Images And Data Courtesy Of: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
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Eilidh G Clark

Added this item on May 12, 2017

Pigeon English Reviews & Ratings (2)
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50.0% (1)
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Eilidh G Clark (177 KP) rated

Jul 2, 2019  
Pigeon English
Pigeon English
Stephen Kelman, Gbolahan Obisesan | 2015 | Children, Young Adult (YA)
10
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
It is funnt and tragic (0 more)
Nothing (0 more)
This is a great first novel
This is a must read. Written in first person and from the point of view of Harry, an eleven year old boy (If my memory serves me well) is the most intelligent and convincing narration I have come across. The novel is funny yet disturbing and the reader is told of the young boys own world but through the innocence of a (not quite mature enough to understand the world) boy. Present tense with analepsis allows the reader into the distance between his old life and his new life. Kelman's terrific talent of show not tell, and the young protagonists inexperience creates a sense of irony, as the adult reader see's what the child is too young to notice himself.
I am not going to go into the plot as I feel that this is something I do not want to spoil but believe me, Kelman's characters are fully fleshed out and the world they live in as real as any run down council estate in the UK. This novel surprised me, made me laugh and brought me to tears and has left a tiny book shaped hole in my heart. Well done Stephen Kelman