Recensori in anteprimaAlex Wheatle

In this breathtaking memoir, acclaimed author Alex Wheatle details how reggae music became his salvation through a childhood marred by abuse, imprisonment, and police brutality

“In this inspiring, often harrowing narrative, the author chronicles how, shortly after he turned 3, he was abandoned by his parents and placed in the care of the government. That led to a childhood of physical and sexual abuse on top of the racism and police brutality he experienced growing up in Brixton, England, in the 1970s and ’80s... As dark as his early memories are, Wheatle describes his reggae memories with glimmers of hope and appreciation... A striking tribute to reggae’s ability to protect a fragile soul when seemingly everything else had failed him.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Abandoned as a baby to the British foster care system, Alex Wheatle grew up without any knowledge of his Jamaican parentage or family history. Preoccupied with his own roots, Alex grew inexorably drawn to reggae music, which became his primary solace through years of physical and mental abuse in a children’s home.

Although riven by loneliness and depression, Alex found joy and empathy among his reggae heroes: Dennis Brown, Bob Marley, Marcia Griffiths, the Mighty Diamonds, Sister Nancy, Gregory Isaacs, Barrington Levy, King Yellowman, and so many others. These were friends and mentors who understood the enormous challenges facing a young Black man, gave purpose to despair, provided a sense of belonging when Alex had no one, and who educated him in ways no school ever could. From the abuse he suffered in foster care, to the challenges he faced on the streets of South London as a young man and his eventual imprisonment for participating in the legendary 1981 Brixton uprising against racial injustice, reggae music always provided a lifeline to Alex.

Alex’s life story was portrayed in Oscar Award–winning director Steve McQueen’s 2020 Small Axe, and viewers will know that Alex is now one of the most lauded writers in Great Britain, deservedly honored with a Member of the British Empire (MBE) for services to literature. In Sufferah, he vividly tells his own story, putting the reader in his shoes through the many challenges of his younger years, answering the question: how on earth did he make it?

Alex Wheatle’s award-winning fiction—and this memoir—are a gift to us all, a call to never give up hope. His stories were inspired by a boy in the UK who knew nothing about himself but found a rich heritage, and through Sufferah we are reminded that words can be our sustenance, and music can be our heartbeat.

Kemosha of the Caribbean is Alex Wheatle’s second historical YA fiction set in Jamaica. In 1668, fifteen-year-old Kemosha is sold by a slave owner to a tavern keeper in Port Royal, Jamaica—the “wickedest city on earth.” She soon flees from a brutal assault and finds herself in the company of a free Black man, Ravenhide, who offers her shelter and shows her a path to freedom. Ravenhide is a skilled barrel maker by day and an expert swordsman in the employ of the notorious Captain Morgan by night. Kemosha proves to be a natural with a sword, and after several weeks of training returns to defeat the tavern owner in a sword-fighting wager that wins her her freedom. The duel catches the attention of Captain Morgan, who invites her to join Ravenhide on a pillaging voyage to Panama aboard his infamous ship, the Satisfaction. As her swashbuckling legend grows, she realizes she has the power to win freedom not just for herself, but for her kin and her soul mate Isabella as well—but not without paying a terrible price . . . Kemosha of the Caribbean enlightens as it entertains, bringing 17th-century Jamaica to life and creating an unforgettable heroine for all ages.

Moa, a fourteen-year-old slave, gets caught up in the most significant slave rebellion in Jamaican history, paying homage to freedom fighters all over the world. Irresistible, gripping, and unforgettable, Cane Warriors follows the true story of Tacky’s War in Jamaica in 1760. A powerful young adult tale told through the eyes of Moa, a fourteen-year-old slave, this fictionalized account of the most significant rebellion of the time is rarely mentioned in history books or taught in schools. The story begins as Moa is awoken in the middle of the night by one of the rebels, who informs him that the revolt will begin on Easter Sunday. Moa’s father doesn’t like the idea of his son joining the rebellion, but his mother gives Moa her blessing. Together, Moa and his sixteen-year-old best friend Keverton take up arms, learning about brotherhood, courage, faith, and sacrifice along the way. Alex Wheatle’s brilliant storytelling and characterization vividly bring to life the issues, pain, and the power structure of the era, along with the hopes and the dreams of the people. In writing this story, Wheatle’s meticulous and extensive research evokes the stories and legends passed down by word of mouth over the centuries.

When Naomi, a fourteen-year-old white girl, is placed with a black foster care family, her life takes some dramatic twists and turns. This isn’t my home. Haven’t had a proper home since . . . This is just somewhere I’ll be resting my bones for a week and maybe a bit. This time next year you’ll forget who I am. I haven’t got a diddly where I’ll be by then. But I’m used to it. New from the UK-based best-selling black British author and winner of the Guardian Children’s Book Award, Home Girl is the story of Naomi, a teenage girl growing up fast in the foster care system. It is a wholly modern story which sheds a much-needed light on what can be an unsettling life—and the consequences that follow when children are treated like pawns on a family chessboard. Home Girl is fast-paced and funny, tender, tragic, and full of courage—just like Naomi. It is Alex Wheatle’s most moving and personal novel to date.