In Our Mad and Furious City - Hardcover

Guy Gunaratne grew up in North West London and has worked as a designer, documentary filmmaker and video journalist covering post-conflict areas around the world, as well as co-founding two technology companies. He was shortlisted for the 4th Estate/Guardian Books B4ME Short Story Prize.

In Our Mad and Furious City is our favourite debut of 2018. Gunaratne draws on growing up in north-west London in this tale of 48 hours on a council estate, where three young boys dream of escaping * Glamour * In Our Mad and Furious City is fraught and heartbreaking at the same time, with a biting, in-your-face clarity to it that you can't ignore. It's a searing marvel of a novel * Belfast Telegraph * Already hailed as a modern masterpiece, this timely and authentic portrayal of life for young men living on our city estates is as mesmerising as it is vital * Heat * The prose remains alive, alert and subtly integrated, with various accents and non-standard Englishes raising themselves up to the same very high literary watermark. This is one of the hardest things to pull off for a prose stylist. The Dominican-born American writer Junot Diaz is, possibly, the finest living exponent of it. Gunaratne is no doubt on his way. What you are left with - always a treat though not by any stretch as essential to all writing as some would have you believe - is a prose that benefits from being read aloud. But more so, a prose that just plain deserves to be read * Irish Times * This novel is a love letter to the language of London's streets and to its people, but also a blistering look at a city on the edge that'll sweep you up until you reach the book's breathless, devastating conclusion * Stylist * Gritty, grotesque; graceful and beautiful. This is the London that we call home -- J J Bola A blistering debut unlike anything I've read before. This is a powerful, raw, yet heartrending account of 48 hours on a London estate * BBC.co.uk * A timely read, addressing the urgent questions of our divided society. We're sure Guy is set for big things * Metro * A blazing, swaggering, polyphonic debut. Here is London through the eyes of those 'with elsewhere in their blood'. Gunaratne has a ventriloquist's command of voice, a film-maker's eye, and talent to burn -- Simon Wroe, author of HERE COMES TROUBLE A vivid and affecting account of estate life, both blighted by frustration and elevated by dreams we can all recognise and share. Guy's characters are drawn with compassion and flair, and I was captivated by their humanity -- Stephen Kelman, author of PIGEON ENGLISH The voices and the language are stunning. As is the all the rich detail that really brings the book to life. And I really admire the skill with which each of the narrators is given such beautiful depth of soul. I keep thinking about each of them. The narrative and energy hooked me right from the start and never let go. It really is a very special book - the book we've all been waiting for -- Gautam Malkani, author of LONDONSTANI What a voice. What an ear for language. No mean feat to capture the street, the nuance of black experience, the architecture of so many different lives. It's a brave and original piece of work -- Kit de Waal, author of THE TRICK TO TIME This is cracking. Original, honest voices and a vivid portrayal of a London rarely seen in literature -- Paula Hawkins [A] blazing polyphonic debut * Guardian *