This is a debut novel that has made it onto the Booker 2026 long list. White is a young Irish writer of Algerian lineage. The book is set in Dublin’s crime gangs along with their own argot. It is a violent crime infested story with a romance at the centre of it. The action and language are brutal but creates an authenticity that is one of the novel’s strengths. But if you are not comfortable with very strong language then this book is not for you.
A gang member returns to Dublin but finds it hard to fit back in. He killed a rival years earlier and so fled to England but now finds that the victim has three brothers, all seeking revenge … maybe. More worrying for Tony Ward are the questions, whose side is he on, what does he have to do to fit back in, and who can he trust. Desire gets in the way of the answers.
Unfortunately, the gangland storyline is hazy, and at times confusing, and the romance is brief, the only sex scene is honest, not overtly described, as some reviewers assert, but the relationship feels underdone and so a little unlikely. Yes, the romance is at the centre of the story but not strong enough to be its heart.
Nevertheless it’s an impressive debut. The ending, although satisfying to a degree, is open-ended leading to an expectation of a sequel. Whatever Djamal White’s second novel will be, you can bet it will be highly anticipated.
Michael K Freundt 