"Pigeon English": My Defeat

I am embarrassed to say that I did not finish reading the rather critically acclaimed "Pigeon English".  I got a chunk of the way through it and just had to give up.  I am sure that the narrative picks up speed and you fall more in love with the young narrator as the novel progresses, but I just didn't get on with it.  I draw the line at having to guess what words mean in a novel, I don't mind words that are long and that have a definition in the dictionary, but the rather haphazard inserting of Ghana/London slang at the beginning and end of sentences was just a bit, well, annoying.  The slang in itself was perhaps not the issue but it was in its use, it didn't help the narration flow as it should and was quite jarring.

The book is based upon the deeply sad stabbing of Damilola Taylor in the year 2000 and is a story of difference, community and responsibility as we follow the tale of Harrison Opoku.  A boy is knifed to death on the local high street and as the police appeal for witnesses draws a blank Harri decides to set up his own investigation into the killing.  This decision soon affects those around him, especially those that care for him the most.


This was a book outside of my comfort zone, and it defeated me!  I honestly thought I could read just about anything unless it was utter rubbish, and this is clearly not a novel that fits into the 'utter rubbish' category.  I would imagine this would be a good one for fans of urban multicultural fiction, for folk that enjoy something a little more challenging.  This is not to say that the narration in itself is challenging, but it is the style that hits you.

This is a sad day indeed, a sad, sad day.  The day I would actually prefer to have a staring competition with a pigeon rather than finish a book!  3...2....1....STARE!!

This is one of my own photos of a Wood Pigeon, and no Pigeons were harmed in the shooting of this image.