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rosseroo's review
4.0
What is a very simple, and almost timeless, story is given a nasty costume of new gangster style in this taut debut. East and West are two brothers, born and bred in the same East End that has produced countless real life and fictional Cockney gangsters. East is a typical lad about the Stepney hood, running with the same a tight group of friends since childhood, getting into fights, thieving and going through women. His brother West is the unfortunate victim of a facial deformity (similar to that portrayed in the film Mask), and while superficially accepted as one of the gang, and fiercely loved by his brother, always destined to be an outsider.
The book kicks off with West accidentally causing the death of his girlfriend, who is the youngest in a family of heavy local criminals. West immediately realizes he must run or be killed, and East insists on joining him. The entire book tells of their months on the the run, at first together, and later separately, with their pursuers close behind and showing no mercy to those who try and help them. The pivotal moment is when the two brothers split up, this allows Powell to show each brother as an individual. And while West craves the familiarity and closeness of his home turf, East begins to realize that life has more possibilities-even for someone like him-than sitting in his room making models all day.
Powell is making a clear statement about the role of environment, as each brother passes through different experiences in trying to lie low, from homelessness and begging, to mindless factory work, to communal living. But all the while, the noose grows tighter, keeping the book from being a simple "message" novel. The two brothers' mental states and growth as people is handled extremely well, although each has a romantic interest which seems a bit forced somehow. On the whole, the prose is simple and unadorned, with a pervasive sense of unease resonating throughout. An excellent debut.
The book kicks off with West accidentally causing the death of his girlfriend, who is the youngest in a family of heavy local criminals. West immediately realizes he must run or be killed, and East insists on joining him. The entire book tells of their months on the the run, at first together, and later separately, with their pursuers close behind and showing no mercy to those who try and help them. The pivotal moment is when the two brothers split up, this allows Powell to show each brother as an individual. And while West craves the familiarity and closeness of his home turf, East begins to realize that life has more possibilities-even for someone like him-than sitting in his room making models all day.
Powell is making a clear statement about the role of environment, as each brother passes through different experiences in trying to lie low, from homelessness and begging, to mindless factory work, to communal living. But all the while, the noose grows tighter, keeping the book from being a simple "message" novel. The two brothers' mental states and growth as people is handled extremely well, although each has a romantic interest which seems a bit forced somehow. On the whole, the prose is simple and unadorned, with a pervasive sense of unease resonating throughout. An excellent debut.
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