Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman

This was such a wonderful surprise of a book and will make my top ten for 2011.  

Harrison Opoku is a most memorable character just on the edge of puberty and his naivete is captured perfectly and without affectation.  He struggles with the murder of an older classmate from his London neighborhood (the novel's centerpiece) and seeks to find the killer in a young-boy-who-watches-too-much-CSI manner.  

Harri is a young man with a foot in two worlds: that of an immigrant in a new land, a wide-eyed schoolboy turning into a teenager (his budding romance is one of the best accounts I've read in ages), and from childhood to manhood.  

Initially, the pigeon motif confused me but once I caught on, it added a layer to the story and to Harri's character that I found quite beautiful.  Harri's use of slang terms (his own pigeon English) was also a little tough to follow at first but it was a realistic depiction of a boy of that age.  It was a pleasure to read and has stayed with me since.

The shortlist for this year's Man Booker Prize

Here's the shortlist for the Booker: The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes   Jamrach’s Menagerie by Carol Birch    The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt    Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan    Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman    Snowdrops by A.D. Miller I've read two of them and loved both.  The Sisters Brothers was such a surprising read.  Here's what I thought of it: http://goo.gl/fozJQ Stephen Kelman's Pigeon English was as delightful as it was haunting.  I still need to post about this but don't let that stop you from reading it. I've no idea what kind of odds the British bookmakers are putting on these books but I'm guessing they are longshots.  The winner will be announced on October 18 in London.

Where the hell I've been

Surprised to hear from me?  Thought I'd chucked it all and gotten a paying gig?  Perhaps a better offer? Goodness no.  I wouldn't leave you though I am apt to disappear from time to time.  Turns out I took the summer off and hadn't even expected to do so.  

You see, for the first time since she began teaching, Mrs. Next allowed herself to relax.  She took no classes, attended no seminars, studied no new theory and simply let her mind alone for the better part of three months.  So I joined her and it was delightful.

We took it easy, worked on our home, enjoyed time with friends, ate entirely too well and traveled a bit.  We read and read and read and I even had a little work done--fingertip implants.  (All the bloggers are doing it but let's keep it between us for now, shall we?  You're a doll).  

So that's why ol' Reed has been out of touch.  However, that's about to change.  As mentioned, lots of reading and therefore, lots to talk about.  In the near future, I'll post on several books worth a look, including:
 
The Rules of Civility, an absolutely marvelous debut that's been out for only two weeks but will be read for years and years to come,

Donald Ray Pollock's disturbing, Ohio Gothic novel, The Devil All the Time,

One Thousand White Women, Jim Fergus' cinematic epistolary novel from 1998,

and the absolutely charming Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman.  Main character Harri will stay with you long after the last page.

There will be more and soon.  Do stay with me.