May 31, 2024
In this follow-up to their prize-winning debut, In Our Mad and Furious City, Gunaratne returns to a London rocked by increasing terror attacks and anti-Muslim rhetoric. Framed as an interview between radical social media poet Yahya Bas and the unnamed "Mister," the story unfolds as Yahya, recently returned from Syria after searching for his father, recounts the messy path that brought him to this interrogation room. Born to an Iraqi father and a British mother, Yahya finds his voice and his purpose, achieving notoriety as he channels the rage and frustration of a community of far-right Muslims through poetry and verse. Is Yahya unhinged, or just an antihero with a huge fan base that welcomes his theatrics? Gunaratne narrates the audiobook, relaying Yahya's vivid musings with a thoughtful yet driving tone. Listeners may recognize Yahya's "rampant wilding bents" in the rhetoric of today's politics, but the strength of Gunaratne's novel, which they communicate with well-placed pauses, also lies in Yahya's silences. VERDICT Essential listening for those seeking to understand the nuances of extremism and the intersection of anti-Western and anti-Muslim sentiment.--Sharon Sherman
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.