Io Khaled Vendo Uomini e Sono Innocente

 

Even months after having read this, I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book. 

On the one hand, it's obviously important to talk about the people behind the trafficking of migrants across the Mediterranean, and show their place in "the system". 

On the other hand, at times this book made me feel as if the author was herself exploiting the suffering of migrants in her book (and surprisingly, the most gruelling scenes left me relatively unmoved - perhaps because we are all getting tragically used and routinely exposed to them?) while being a bit too supportive of the narrator's own attempts to deny his own agency and importance within the people smuggling network. 

The Last Word - Hanif Kureishi

I am biased. I’ve met Hanif Kureishi when I was working as a pseudo-interpreter for a literary festival on the Italian hills.

That said, I am not biased enough to consider this one of the best books ever written. It is a pleasant read, and the dynamic between the two main characters (an accomplished author and his biographer) is interesting enough. That said, some of the author’s customary “rock” remarks end up a bit lost in this generational and cultural conflict.

Clearly, the question of identity – in particular British identity – is asked time and again, as is often the case with Kureishi. Can someone tell Theresa May that, if Mamoon is allowed to feel British, so should I...