PICK OF THE WEEK

FAST BY THE HORNS

★★★★☆

Following on from his outstanding debut novel

An Olive Grove In Ends, Moses McKenzie’s second book sees him remain on home turf in the West Indian communities of Bristol.

Here he turns the clock back to 1980, when the lives of those in St Paul’s are made harder by police racism and city council neglect. In an environment where the locals have

EARTH

competing visions of how to fight the forces raging against them, 14-year-old Jabari tries to make sense of his Rastafari faith and the lessons of his father, community leader Ras Levi.

Taught the bible story of Abraham and Isaac, Jabari faces his own tests of faith and loyalty as violence descends on the community.

McKenzie’s beautiful prose, thick with dialect, elevates this parable, another example of his remarkable ability to write with a wisdom which belies his tender age.

after a spell as a sex worker, he became a footballer.

Evan is on trial for filming his footballer friend Robbie rape a young woman. So much of the book is sympathetic to Evan but Robbie is an unsympathetic character and it’s hard to see the point in this kind of story, which so sidelines the woman’s perspective. While Boyne’s writing is gripping, the story is exhausting when these kinds of high-profile trials are the norm, and victims are so often smeared and discarded.

AN AFRICAN HISTORY OF AFRICA

★★★★☆ The immensity of the scope journalist Zeinab Badawi covers in writing a history of the vast continent of Africa, from the origin of the humankind to the modern era, is truly ambitious. But she rises to the task, providing an African lens on the familiar as well as revelations to the average person.

The nature of the task can make it feel like a list of rulers and battles but she also considers the deeper influences and how these changing situations have left their mark.

Badawi interviews local historians and scholars whose expertise and knowledge is woven through the text. It’s an excellent starting point for learning more about Africa and its history without a Euro-centric view.