A01=Nicolas Padamsee
art against extremism
Author_Nicolas Padamsee
Call of Duty
Category=FBA
Category=FXS
Category=FXT
Discord
Discord Server
East London
England
eq_bestseller
eq_fiction
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_modern-contemporary
eq_nobargain
Essex
extremism
far right
gaming
Hackney
Haggerston
Houellebecq
Islam
Islamism
Libertines
London
Monica Ali
Morrissey
Muslim
nationalism
Newbury Park
online
online extremism
online radicalisation
Pete Doherty
Peter Doherty
racism
radical
radicalisation
Shamsie
teenage boys
terrorism
The Smiths
trolls
vegan
West Ham
Product details
- ISBN 9781800819511
- Weight: 840g
- Dimensions: 140 x 216mm
- Publication Date: 11 Apr 2024
- Publisher: Profile Books Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 GORDON BURN PRIZE
'Nicolas Padamsee's subtle, satirical debut smartly explores the reasons frightened teenage boys become dangerous men' Financial Times
'A politically engaged, urgently plotted coming-of-age thriller with a wicked satirical streak' Observer
'Darkly humorous and highly topical' Spectator
'A brilliant dissection of race, identity, masculinity and extremism' Monica Ali
'Heart-breaking . . . captures modern times in the UK perceptively' Peter Doherty, The Libertines
David hates school, where he has been bullied, and has reached sixth form without any friends. Music is the only thing that keeps him going. Inspired by his hero, Karl Williams, he becomes vegan, wears eyeliner and writes song lyrics. But one night onstage Karl Williams accuses Muslims of homophobia and is cancelled. Conflicted by his feelings for his favourite artist and compelled by the conversations he has while playing Call of Duty, David becomes more and more fascinated by the far right's narratives of masculinity in conflict with liberal society.
Living in the same East London borough as David, Hassan has his own problems. He is drifting apart from his childhood friends, Mo and Ibrahim, who drink, blaze skunk and mock him for hanging out at the Muslim youth centre, where he is older than everyone else. Determined to make something of himself, he volunteers for his local mosque and works hard to try to get the grades he needs to go to university.
As these second-generation immigrants struggle for a sense of identity and belonging - amid a wave of online radicalisation and extremism - their fates become inextricably, catastrophically entwined.
Nicolas Padamsee grew up in Essex. He holds a Creative Writing MA and a Creative & Critical Writing PhD from the University of East Anglia, and is the editor of Arts Against Extremism, which promotes literature as a means of investigating, understanding and countering extremism. He splits his time between Norwich and Upton Park, London.
