Pigeon English - Stephen Kelman

My brother recommended Pigeon English to me a while ago without any real reason - he just said "it's a book you have to read". Intrigued, I got hold of a copy and spent two days completely caught up in reading it. Kelman has done a fantastic job, and I think that everyone should definitely read this book at some point in their life, but at the same time, I feel that it should come with a warning.

Pigeon English is Stephen Kelman's debut novel, and it follows the life of 11 year old Harrison Opoku, who has recently settled down in England with his mother and older sister, Lydia, leaving his father and younger sister, Agnes, behind in Ghana. A boy is stabbed to death and the police can't seem to get to the bottom of it, leaving the murder unsolved. Despite having to adjust to his new life in a strange country, Harrison and his friend Dean take it upon themselves to find out who was behind it. As the book progresses, we start to get deeper into the events of what really happened that night, and it becomes apparent that the more Harrison knows, the more danger he is in.

The story is told through Harrison's perspective, immediately establishing a relationship between the protagonist and the reader. The main thing that stood out for me is the strong sense of innocence in his character - Kelman sets things up so that readers can start to piece things together before Harrison, who is too young and too naive to pick up on them. I think the innocence in his character is important because it prevents him from being an unreliable narrator - we recognise that, because he is young, he isn't able to detect everything an adult can, and so allow him to be slightly flawed in this sense. His naivety is funny a lot of the time, and the majority of light moments in the book come from his observations and attempts to make sense of the world around him. It is important to note that as he gets older and more immersed in his environment, there are moments where this innocence starts to slip, and this works to make him a rounded character.

I felt like I knew most of the characters really well by the end of the book and, even though I did question some of their motives and actions at points, I never fully disliked any of them. We witness them grow up and deal with adult situations that they shouldn't be involved in at this stage in their lives - a sad reality that a lot of kids today can probably relate to. I did find it hard at times to picture what some characters, like Lydia, looked like, but Kelman invests so much time into building their personalities that it barely matters. If you're someone who likes clear, in-depth descriptions of characters I still think you should read this book, but just bare this in mind!

The physical absence of Harrison's father and little sister is an important part of the novel. Loads of kids that turn to street crime come from broken homes, and whilst Harrison's family unit is pretty secure, it is clear that if he had the constant influence of his father, he would probably have made different decisions at times. This is delicately woven into the story, and a sign of the insecurity Harrison feels is brought out in his relationship with the pigeon. He talks to him as a way of exploring his thoughts and making sense of the world, and whilst this was a nice addition to the story, I did find it a bit disturbing at the beginning because he addresses the pigeon as "you", and I thought he was referring to me (the reader).

The one thing I loved about Kelman's writing was the way he explores gang culture in a way that isn't patronising. He presents the situation of each character and adds in some sort of back story. Then he lets you decide why things are the way they are. He never explicitly blames the government, police, parents, religion or the kids themselves, but there are times where readers question each of these factors in turn, and come to understand how they are all interlinked.

There were some points where I found myself questioning exactly where the plot was going, because Kelman keeps certain aspects of the story line hidden until later on. Up until the first half of the book, I wasn't sure if I liked this style of writing - I didn't want a predictable plot, but I did want to have some kind of idea of the direction events where going in. He turns things around in the second half though as, slowly, the pieces begin to fit together, and it worked so perfectly that I overlooked my initial skepticism. The book is face-paced and covers a time span of about 4 months, so you never feel like time is dragging on. He also keeps the murder investigation at the heart of the novel, continuously referring back to it, which grounds readers and keeps it at the forefront of your mind.

The language used in this book is interesting and needs to be noted. Harrison is very blunt, and is still being introduced to new words without fully understanding their meaning or the weight attached to them. This means that there is a lot of swearing, slang and explicit language. The majority of the time, the narrative is easy to understand, and you get used to Harrison's colloquial interjections. If you're someone who is uncomfortable with this kind of writing then bare this in mind when deciding whether or not to read this book, because whilst I think it just adds to the authenticity of the characters and their environment, you may feel differently and end up not enjoying the story at all.

The reason I think this book should come with a severe warning is because, whilst it is very well written and hugely important in the way it explores popular culture, it deals with very serious themes that could make some people very uncomfortable. Death, domestic violence, murder, violence, religion, abuse, sex and illegal immigration are all explored in the plot, and so I think it is wise to be cautious. I was really pleased to hear that the government are considering putting this on the A-Level English Literature syllabus, because I think it's relevant and comparable to 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini in the way it explores delicate issues through the eyes of a young boy. The book teaches you the importance of holding on to your morals and what you know to be right, even when the things you believe are called into question, and I think this is a lesson that anyone of any age can learn from.

You can get this for £1.99 on an amazon kindle, around £6 paperback on amazon, £6.39 at Waterstones, and about £8 from the book depository (with free worldwide delivery).