The Dirty South by Alex Wheatle (Paperback, 2009)

Brixton, twenty years after the race riots. Teenager Dennis Huggins drifts into the easy, dangerous life of the shotta - or drug dealer - and discovers that, hard as the struggle for respect on the streets is, the struggle for love is harder still.

At least Dennis has involved parents looking out for him; too many of his friends drift through life with no positive influences or moral code; their only 'family' their fellow dealers. Wheatle brilliantly evokes the temptations of the thug life for young black men growing up in London's 'Dirty South' - this is a fast, compelling novel that offers no easy answers, but refuses to shy away from asking the difficult questions.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Serpent's Tail
Publication date ‏ : ‎ 2 April 2009
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN ‏ : ‎ 9781846686573
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.9 x 1.4 x 19.8 cm