Locks by Ashleigh Nugent

I don't know whether me being from Liverpool has made this book funnier, but it certainly adds to it. The phrases, words and locations are all very familiar as well as the attitudes of most people in the 1980s and 1990s. Nostalgic and humorous: I hope that's what Nugent was aiming for. Because this is a tragic and disturbing tale about racism, someone who suffered for being Black - and White. Not a laughing matter.

The narrator of this tale has a dual heritage and all his life he has been called racist names relating to him being Black. At the age of sixteen he decides to travel to Jamaica to find his roots and be with his people. However, it doesn't turn out like that. He isn't as dark skinned as most Jamaicans and despite his best efforts to become more Black, he is nicknamed White Man. Other typically Jamaican activities are practically beyond him. And while this is cringeworthy in a lot of ways (boys trying to act like hard men is universal, too) there is a sad element as he ends up going to prison and then to a young offenders centre. Bullied and beaten and a long way from home.

This is a talented writer who writes with originality, warmth and sensitivity. The Jamaican Patois is a large feature and does take some getting used to but it rather funny at times especially when the characters use it to describe or explain things. There is a feeling of authenticity, which makes this story more distressing - but there is always the witty comment to bring everything back down to earth.

A book about identity, belonging, duality, prejudice, injustice and all things coming-of-age. But mostly it is about stories. Absolutely brilliant read.              

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Published by Picador Pan MacMillan on 22 June 2023.
Advance review copy supplied by the publisher.