Nadifa Mohamed's The Fortune Men is based on the real story of Somali sailor Mahmood Mattan October saw the Tyneside Book Club discuss Nadifa Mohamed's Booker shortlisted The Fortune Men.
Based on a real miscarriage of justice from the 1950s, it tells the story of Mahmood Mattan, a Somali who has settled in Cardiff.
When Jewish shopkeeper Lily Volpert is brutally murdered, Mattan becomes an easy target for the police looking for someone to blame. He is hanged even though there is little evidence to suggest he committed the crime, or was capable of it.
Members enjoyed the book, and appreciated its highlighting of a shocking historic injustice. There was some discussion about whether fiction was the best way of exploring the story, or whether a factual account of the case would have been more powerful. The use of fiction did though allow Mohamed to explore Mattan's perspective, even though this was clearly speculative.
Mahmood was for some a relatively unsympathetic character. He is no angel, as he was a minor villain and rascal who did not always acquit himself well. But he felt three-dimensional, and it was those flaws that allowed the authorities to target him for a murder which he clearly did not commit.
Members appreciated Mohamed's poetic style and atmospheric descriptions of Tiger Bay in Cardiff. There was also a welcome focus on the victim of the crime, though some found the focus on Lily Volpert, though justified, did slow down the narrative. The novel; was at its strongest when concentrating on Mahmood.
There was perhaps a lack of jeopardy in the knowledge that his case was only heading one way, but the power of the narrative lay in how the inevitable injustice gradually closed in. Although it was a tale firmly of its time, members saw some contemporary resonance in attitudes to migrants today.
Based on a real miscarriage of justice from the 1950s, it tells the story of Mahmood Mattan, a Somali who has settled in Cardiff.
When Jewish shopkeeper Lily Volpert is brutally murdered, Mattan becomes an easy target for the police looking for someone to blame. He is hanged even though there is little evidence to suggest he committed the crime, or was capable of it.
Members enjoyed the book, and appreciated its highlighting of a shocking historic injustice. There was some discussion about whether fiction was the best way of exploring the story, or whether a factual account of the case would have been more powerful. The use of fiction did though allow Mohamed to explore Mattan's perspective, even though this was clearly speculative.
Mahmood was for some a relatively unsympathetic character. He is no angel, as he was a minor villain and rascal who did not always acquit himself well. But he felt three-dimensional, and it was those flaws that allowed the authorities to target him for a murder which he clearly did not commit.
Members appreciated Mohamed's poetic style and atmospheric descriptions of Tiger Bay in Cardiff. There was also a welcome focus on the victim of the crime, though some found the focus on Lily Volpert, though justified, did slow down the narrative. The novel; was at its strongest when concentrating on Mahmood.
There was perhaps a lack of jeopardy in the knowledge that his case was only heading one way, but the power of the narrative lay in how the inevitable injustice gradually closed in. Although it was a tale firmly of its time, members saw some contemporary resonance in attitudes to migrants today.
RSS Feed