Sebastian Shakespeare
Far From Home
The Match is about a man trying to make sense of his multi-cultural identity. Born in Colombo and brought up in Manila, Sunny Fernando emigrates to England, where he gives up his engineering degree to become a photographer. But he finds it hard to focus on his place in the world. To paraphrase T S Eliot, he is dislocated from dislocation by dislocation:
In his life he had never felt he knew anything for sure ... the doubt never stopped growing inside, slowly, inexorably distorting everything.
If the themes of exile and emigration seem wearisomely familiar, their execution is less prosaic. Romesh Gunesekera has a lightness of touch and a wry tone which mark him out from many more fashionable novelists.
Sunny's name belies his rather dispiriting parentage. His father is an alcoholic ex-hack and his pianist mother died when he was eight. The first part of the book is set during his childhood in the Philippines. We meet his playmates Robby and Herbie, and his father's best friend Hector, and
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Sixty years ago today, the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to enter outer space. @Andrew_Crumey looks at his role in the space race.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/one-giant-leap-for-mankind
On the night of 5th July 1809, a group of soldiers kidnapped Pope Pius VII on the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte. Munro Price looks at what happened next.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/bonaparte-meets-his-match
'She lived in a damp basement with her mother and sister, smoking roll-ups and talking to her parrot.'
Joanna Kavenna traces the life of the 'almost-forgotten poet' Charlotte Mew.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/she-hated-poetry-readings