A re-imagining of the life of a Somali seaman, Mahmood Mattan, wrongfully convicted of the murder of a Cardiff shopkeeper, Violet Volacki. At first the book swings between telling Mattan's story and that of the victim, and her family. As the story unfold, Mahmood blossoms as a character. He's a chancer, a thief, and adventurer, a lover and a doting father of three little boys. But he's not a murderer. He's the victim of racism, both from different elements of the multi-ethnic community in Cardiff where he then lived, and institutional racism at the hands of the Police, false testimony, and fabricated evidence. The most involving part of the narrative describes Mattan's incarceration, when he evolves and shape-shifts as a character: tough, vulnerable, a risk taker, a believer in British justice.

A moving, nuanced and compassionate re-imagining. ( )

Reading this book made me feel so many things that I didn't know I was capable of.

I don't know what it is about epilogues that make us change our views about the stories by a wide margin but this book is an example of one that you'll come to love more after that final chapter of epilogue.

The story of a wrongly accused man who isn't a saint but completely innocent makes us question how quickly someone can judge others just by seeing their appearances.

The story, I won't spoil the most important part for you but you got to read it to feel it. I liked the pace, I liked the angles from which the story was put forward and the ending just took me in.

I could not put my emotions to words for a while. I know I am doing a pretty shitty job at it now as well.

The book speaks volumes on racism, directed violence and prejudice. It speaks volumes on how there were times (and probably still are) when people wouldn't think twice about someone's loses just to make a few bucks.

YOU HAVE TO READ IT TO FEEL IT AND GET ME. ( )

* I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for the oppportunity to review this book. *

This novel is based on a great injustice in UK history. Mahmood Mattan is a petty criminal living in Tiger Bay, Cardiff. When a Jewish shopkeeper is murdered, witnesses come forward saying that they saw him at the scene. Mahmood protests his innocence, and is very sure that the police have no case, and that this will all go away eventually.

He is very wrong.

At the outset, Mahmood is not an empathetic character, more of thief, a chancer and a womaniser who has been kicked out by his wife. But as the net closes in around him and the harm being done to him by police and people giving false testimony grows and grows, it becomes clear that he is a victim of racism and petty rivalries. I did not realise until the end that this was a real case, and that Mahmood was a real person who suffered a devastating fate. A great read. ( )

A brilliant - and real - story but think this struggles to decide whether it should focus on one character or meander through the whole neighbourhood. Definitely a worthy recommendation for those interesting in recent British/Welsh history, miscarriages of justice or similar. ( )

Historical fiction that tells the tragic story of Mahmood Mattan, who was unjustly convicted of murder. Mattan was a (real) Somali seaman living in Cardiff, Wales, in 1952. In alternating perspectives, the storyline provides Mattan’s background and that of the murdered shopkeeper, Violet Volacki.

My favorite segments were the portrayal of Mattan’s years as a merchant seaman. His character is multi-faceted and skillfully crafted. I also enjoyed the descriptions of the rough surroundings of Cardiff’s Tiger Bay docks: “The splash of tyre on wet tarmac, the stink of sesame oil and broiling meat from Sam On Wen’s Chinese restaurant, the tinny clatter of calypso from a record player, the lean shadows hunkering near the bus stop.”

We know from the beginning how the story will end, and the narrative slowly builds anxiety and dread. Mattan inadvisably trusts the legal system. We observe the racial prejudices that will ruin him. The desire for a quick conviction overrides the lack of evidence. I am sure his family appreciated this story being made known, as Mattan was eventually exonerated by the UK government. It is an uncomfortable and disturbing read.
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