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As in any of the other manuscripts? Oh, no, no, no. He’s a character that was invented just for this. You know deh’s horses in the woods, init?’ I said, repeating what my mama had told me all those years ago. A reedy voice came from behind me: ‘Yo, scuse me.’ The two yutes were waiting to leave. The boy who spoke looked at me through hooded eyes, unsure of what resistance I would provide. The other yute hung at his arm and glared, but didn’t offer a word.
An Olive Grove in Ends by Moses McKenzie - Coles Books
A rare glimpse into the harsh realities of street life and love in luminous prose, rendered with sensitivity and without sentimentalism. An astonishing debut’ Cherie Jones, author of HOW THE ONE-ARMED SISTER SWEEPS HER HOUSE This book featured in the 2022 version of the influential annual Observer Best Debut Novelist feature (past years have included Natasha Brown, Caleb Azumah Nelson, Douglas Stuart, Sally Rooney and Gail Honeyman among many others). There are roads in neighbourhoods like mine all across the country. Broad roads. Without mansions. In England they have names like City Road or High Street, except this road was called Stapleton, and those familiar with her charm might call her Stapes. The difference between where I lived and where I wanted to be living was laughable. I wrung my hands as I walked and comforted myself with the knowledge that I would be rid of the filth soon; all I had to do was remain free. We spent the evening exploring the house, eating from the fridge and napping on the beds. We lived like kings until the day grew old and voices came from outside, adult voices. Cuba gripped my arm and we crept to the front door.Key family members include: Cuba/Midnight – strictly the son of Sayon’s mother’s younger sister but very much a brother to Sayon from school through to their drug dealing partnership; Sayon’s own mother Erica – one of the few to leave the Hughes family, having married a Church pastor Errol Stewart and having largely abandoned all links to the Hughes, including to her own son from a young age; his older cousin Hakim – the other escapee from the family, having converted to Islam, married a Somali girl Elia (Sayon’s school friend) and running a bakery; Winnie – the drug addicted daughter of Nanny’s sister Auny Winifred and a rather (to me) confusing list of other cousins – Jamaal, Hakim, Killa, Bunny all seemingly marked by their criminal, womanising and violent tendencies. His long term aim (as set out in the first chapter) is to buy a Clifton based mansion that his mother first showed him as a child – and his drug dealing and other criminal activities have got him close to that aim with nearly 80% of the price in cash; however just before the novel’s starts (and this is not a spoiler as it is revealed from the second chapter) Sayon kills someone to protect Cuba and is now desperately scrambling to cover this up so as to maintain his dream (and his relationship with Shona) This involves him effectively needing to make a breach with his own family and come under the influence of Shona’s father who, having always resented her relationship with Sayon, now sees Sayon’s salvation as his life project. Sayon has such complexities, someone we feel we can touch, with internal conflicts and a sense of duality, it’s easy to find something to relate to in him, as well as root for him as we continue through the novel. Have you written about Sayon before in previous works? He’d had to push them up to his elbow to keep them in place. Cuba handed me one as I handed him some food from a cupboard. WINNER: HAWTHORNDEN PRIZE 2023; SOMERSET MAUGHAM AWARD 2023;SOHO HOUSE BREAKTHROUGH WRITER AWARD 2022
An Olive Grove in Ends by Moses McKenzie | Hachette UK An Olive Grove in Ends by Moses McKenzie | Hachette UK
Growing up, Sayon found respite from the chaos of his environment in the love and loyalty of his brother-in-arms, Cuba; in the example of his cousin Hakim, a man once known as the most infamous drug-dealer in their neighbourhood, now a proselytising Muslim; and in the tenderness of his girl, Shona, whose own sense of purpose galvanises Sayon’s. Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? You know man’s gonna live here someday, cuz,’ I announced. Cuba screwed his face; he didn’t mean to doubt me, but he wasn’t accustomed to dreams. ‘How you gonna buy dis yard, akh? You need white people ps to buy dis – big man ting.’ ‘Don’t watch dat,’ I told him. ‘Man’ll find a way, truss me.’ I set the novel in the area I was raised in. So the inspiration is just the area itself, you know, my home is the inspiration. I don’t mean my home as in my literal house. My home, as in my area and then the neighbouring area. I didn’t have to sit down and think about setting and place because that was what I lived. And then I wrote it for my little cousin.Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. – Matthew 7:13 – 14 I enjoyed the questions and contradictions the novel presented. Sayon felt like a real person making decisions that were a mix of both good and not so good, just like any real person would. The supporting cast felt just as real. The arguments Sayon had with himself and others are the crux of the novel and they felt like situations that many people have faced not just those in the Ends in Bristol. A remarkable debut, bristling with sharp prose and daring originality’ Nathan Harris, author of THE SWEETNESS OF WATER
Introducing the UK’s biggest, brightest young things - The Face
Announcing the arrival of a promising 23-year-old author whose work is wise beyond his years' GUARDIANI was so intrigued by its Cover and I had to read it. It was a Wonderful choice and has become another on my Favorite list. Luminous prose, rendered with sensitivity and without sentimentalism. An astonishing debut’ Cherie Jones, author of HOW THE ONE-ARMED SISTER SWEEPS HER HOUSE Sayon wrestles with his feelings for his girlfriend Shona, with her preacher father and his insistence on the Christian god, his cousin’s insistence on Allah, and with his best friend and cousin Cuba who he cannot imagine abandoning. It’s a novel about class and status as well as race and religion: this covers a great deal of socio-political scope. Was this the intention? From 1st July 2021, VAT will be applicable to those EU countries where VAT is applied to books - this additional charge will be collected by Fed Ex (or the Royal Mail) at the time of delivery. Shipments to the USA & Canada:
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