Status
Available
Call number
Publication
London ; Viking, 2021.
Description
"Based on a true event, The Fortune Men tells the intimate, harrowing story of the last man in Britain to be sentenced to death. In Cardiff, Wales in 1952, Mahmood Mattan, a young Somali sailor, is accused of a crime he did not commit: the brutal killing of Violet Volacki, a shopkeeper from Tiger Bay. At first, Mahmood believes he can ignore the fingers pointing his way; he may be a gambler and a petty thief, but he is no murderer. He is a father of three, secure in his innocence and his belief in British justice. But as the trial draws closer, his prospect for freedom dwindles. Now, Mahmood must stage a terrifying fight for his life, with all the chips stacked against him: a shoddy investigation, an inhumane legal system, and, most evidently, pervasive and deep-rooted racism at every step. Under the shadow of the hangman's noose, Mahmood begins to realize that even the truth may not be enough to save him. A haunting tale of miscarried justice, this book offers a chilling look at the dark corners of our humanity." --… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member kidzdoc
The setting for this novel is Tiger Bay, a dockside neighborhood in the current Welsh capital of Cardiff that is filled with a rich blend of people from several dozen countries across the world. One of its residents was Mahmood Mattan, a man in his late 20s who was born in British Somaliland and
Mattan was a man of few words, who was inscrutable and untrustworthy, and he had no close friends, even amongst his fellow Somali.
On 6 March 1952 a shopkeeper, Violet Volacki, was brutally murdered in her shop by a man who appeared to be Somali, according to witnesses, although no one saw the crime take place. The police engaged in a sweeping manhunt, and on the basis of a shoddy investigation, his past criminal history, and unreliable witnesses motivated by a sizable reward, Mattan was arrested and charged with the murder. He is outraged at being accused of a violent crime he did not commit, yet certain that the British justice system, which he views as fair and unbiased toward all of its citizens, will quickly exonerate him.
The case comes to trial, to Mattan’s surprise, but he remains confident that the true murderer will be found by the authorities, and that he will soon be freed, and be able to put his life back together and return to the wife and sons he cherishes.
'The Fortune Men' is a powerful and evocative novel, which paints a rich portrait of its characters, and of Tiger Bay, the city of Cardiff, and the failures of a British society which showed little concern or respect to the African and Caribbean immigrants whose love of the motherland was not returned to them. Nadifa Mohamed spent 20 years researching and writing this book, and its attention to detail was quite apparent to this reader. It is a deserving choice for this year’s Booker Prize shortlist, and I would not be disappointed if it won the award.
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emigrated to Cardiff after the end of World War II, in order to pursue a better life in the Mother Country whose ideals he admires and embraces. Mattan was gainfully employed as a longshoreman and a seaman upon his arrival in Cardiff, but after he suffered an injury he took on odd jobs that did not pay well. He wooed and married a young Welsh woman with whom he had three young boys, but after he became an unreliable provider and engaged in petty crime his wife divorced and left him, although she still loved Mahmood and believed in him.Mattan was a man of few words, who was inscrutable and untrustworthy, and he had no close friends, even amongst his fellow Somali.
On 6 March 1952 a shopkeeper, Violet Volacki, was brutally murdered in her shop by a man who appeared to be Somali, according to witnesses, although no one saw the crime take place. The police engaged in a sweeping manhunt, and on the basis of a shoddy investigation, his past criminal history, and unreliable witnesses motivated by a sizable reward, Mattan was arrested and charged with the murder. He is outraged at being accused of a violent crime he did not commit, yet certain that the British justice system, which he views as fair and unbiased toward all of its citizens, will quickly exonerate him.
The case comes to trial, to Mattan’s surprise, but he remains confident that the true murderer will be found by the authorities, and that he will soon be freed, and be able to put his life back together and return to the wife and sons he cherishes.
'The Fortune Men' is a powerful and evocative novel, which paints a rich portrait of its characters, and of Tiger Bay, the city of Cardiff, and the failures of a British society which showed little concern or respect to the African and Caribbean immigrants whose love of the motherland was not returned to them. Nadifa Mohamed spent 20 years researching and writing this book, and its attention to detail was quite apparent to this reader. It is a deserving choice for this year’s Booker Prize shortlist, and I would not be disappointed if it won the award.
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LibraryThing member brenzi
Based on a true story, Somalian sailor Mahmood Mattan has been a free spirit roaming the globe over the seas, until he meets and falls in love with Laura. He admits to being a petty thief but when he's arrested for murder his world is turned upside down. But it's 1952 in the Tiger Bay section of
Richly drawn characters go a long way toward making a book compelling and these characters were compassionate, intelligent and fully fleshed out by the author. I was particularly enamored with the relationship that developed between Mahmood and the two warders at the jail, that quietly conveyed a beautiful compassion. But it was really Mahmood's solidarity with the Tiger Bay community and the teeming community itself that jumped off the page for me.
I don't want to say too much because the mystery is the thing here but I'll just say that very bad policing makes justice difficult today and in 1952.
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Cardiff and even though there are lots of mixed race couples in this Welsh seaside town, will the famous British justice prevail or will Mahmood's race get in the way?Richly drawn characters go a long way toward making a book compelling and these characters were compassionate, intelligent and fully fleshed out by the author. I was particularly enamored with the relationship that developed between Mahmood and the two warders at the jail, that quietly conveyed a beautiful compassion. But it was really Mahmood's solidarity with the Tiger Bay community and the teeming community itself that jumped off the page for me.
I don't want to say too much because the mystery is the thing here but I'll just say that very bad policing makes justice difficult today and in 1952.
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LibraryThing member msf59
Cardiff’s Tiger Bay is a bustling port city in Wales. The year is 1952 and we are introduced to Mahood Mattan, a smooth talking young Somali. He is a father, gambler and petty criminal. After a brutal murder of a shopkeeper, Mahood suddenly finds himself a suspect and he is soon arrested. His
This is a solid, well-written novel, with strong lead characters. It was short-listed for the Booker Prize and I have no problem with that.
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lawyer, along with the help of his estranged but devoted Welsh wife try to build a defense for the innocent man. Mahood has escaped other difficult scrapes in his life but the odds are against him here, as he desperately hopes they find the real killer before his own execution. This is a solid, well-written novel, with strong lead characters. It was short-listed for the Booker Prize and I have no problem with that.
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LibraryThing member brangwinn
I’m not sure where I got the idea this book took place in Somalia rather than Wales, so it took me a little time to get my bearings in the book. I also found the writing to be difficult to follow. Its not exactly disjointed but it took me a while to work out the relationship between the
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characters. Once I found my bearings in the book, the story of a murder he did not commit. Based on the true story, readers are allowed into the mind of an immigrant as he awaits trial in a dreary cell. There are no other suspects for the murder of a shopkeeper and so the police are desperate to pin it in Mahmood. This is a book for the times, when so many people are focused on injustice. Show Less
LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
The Fortune Man, Nadifa Mohamed, author; Hugh Quarshie, narrator
This is a heartbreaking story about a young Somali man. He left home and family to sail the seas in search of new experiences and his future. He was strangely innocent about certain ways of life and very naïve regarding others. He
Mahmood was not a man of virtue, since he was guilty of rather poor behavior in order to get by or just for the thrill it gave him. He loved to gamble and lied frequently to cover up his many transgressions. He was often rude and made idle threats of violence, which he did not carry out, since he was never a violent man. He always tried to act more important than he actually was which was not a winning personality trait. Although he was devoted to his Muslim faith, he married a woman who was white and not a Muslim. Her family resented him. He was, however, capable of great love for his wife and their three sons. Although they lived apart, because of his behavior, she also loved him and remained loyal throughout the travails of their life together. He always maintained the hope of being reunited with them.
When a Jewish shopkeeper was murdered, the curtain came down on Mahmood’s dreams. He was accused of the murder, and his previous criminal behavior, coupled with his habit of lying, made his defense difficult. Because of his abrasive personality, he had not made friends easily, but rather made many enemies who were only too eager to strike back at him. Others simply saw a way to earn a quick buck or to get some other reward for their lies. He was found guilty.
For most of the book, it is hard to remain a captive because it is often repetitive and maintains a timeline that is not linear. As Mahmood’s past and present merge, there is often confusion with many events and characters introduced without any obvious purpose. Then the trial begins and the book takes flight. It is impossible to put it down, as the ideas previously presented, knit a now relevant story together. We see Mahmood come to terms with who he is and what he has done to bring him to the danger he is now facing.
As the reader begins to understand that the book is based on a true story, it becomes even more compelling. Mahmood is abused and/or used by the justice system and a racist society, as witnesses are brought in to provide evidence against him. The entire prosecution was based on circumstantial evidence, woven together from suppositions to make a plausible story. However, Mahmood’s reputation of being someone who kind of slipped through the cracks, and was known as “the shadow”, did not help his case.
Although British law was thought to be fair, it took more than four decades to actually reverse his conviction and correct the miscarriage of justice. The family was forced to suffer the indignity of racial and religious injustice as well as the corruption of the justice system. The incongruities of most justice systems is illustrated as the prisoner is kept healthy in order to be eventually executed. At 29, without ever losing hope or faith, he is hung, unfairly convicted of a crime he did not commit. It remains unsolved today.
This is a heartbreaking story about a young Somali man. He left home and family to sail the seas in search of new experiences and his future. He was strangely innocent about certain ways of life and very naïve regarding others. He
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believed that his G-d would see his goodness and always guide and help him. When he married and settled down, in Cardiff, Wales, he was unable to adjust to the demands of society, and was perhaps justified in his belief that the world was unjust to people with his color skin. He always pushed the envelope, though, and then blamed others and circumstances for his poor choices and petty crimes. Ultimately, however, it was his skin color, so different from everyone else around him in Cardiff, that determined his fate. Mahmood was not a man of virtue, since he was guilty of rather poor behavior in order to get by or just for the thrill it gave him. He loved to gamble and lied frequently to cover up his many transgressions. He was often rude and made idle threats of violence, which he did not carry out, since he was never a violent man. He always tried to act more important than he actually was which was not a winning personality trait. Although he was devoted to his Muslim faith, he married a woman who was white and not a Muslim. Her family resented him. He was, however, capable of great love for his wife and their three sons. Although they lived apart, because of his behavior, she also loved him and remained loyal throughout the travails of their life together. He always maintained the hope of being reunited with them.
When a Jewish shopkeeper was murdered, the curtain came down on Mahmood’s dreams. He was accused of the murder, and his previous criminal behavior, coupled with his habit of lying, made his defense difficult. Because of his abrasive personality, he had not made friends easily, but rather made many enemies who were only too eager to strike back at him. Others simply saw a way to earn a quick buck or to get some other reward for their lies. He was found guilty.
For most of the book, it is hard to remain a captive because it is often repetitive and maintains a timeline that is not linear. As Mahmood’s past and present merge, there is often confusion with many events and characters introduced without any obvious purpose. Then the trial begins and the book takes flight. It is impossible to put it down, as the ideas previously presented, knit a now relevant story together. We see Mahmood come to terms with who he is and what he has done to bring him to the danger he is now facing.
As the reader begins to understand that the book is based on a true story, it becomes even more compelling. Mahmood is abused and/or used by the justice system and a racist society, as witnesses are brought in to provide evidence against him. The entire prosecution was based on circumstantial evidence, woven together from suppositions to make a plausible story. However, Mahmood’s reputation of being someone who kind of slipped through the cracks, and was known as “the shadow”, did not help his case.
Although British law was thought to be fair, it took more than four decades to actually reverse his conviction and correct the miscarriage of justice. The family was forced to suffer the indignity of racial and religious injustice as well as the corruption of the justice system. The incongruities of most justice systems is illustrated as the prisoner is kept healthy in order to be eventually executed. At 29, without ever losing hope or faith, he is hung, unfairly convicted of a crime he did not commit. It remains unsolved today.
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LibraryThing member kcshankd
Had to race to the inevitable finish. I didn't realize until reading the epilogue that the novel was based on an actual case. Will need to sit with this one for a while.
Appreciative of the choice by the Harvard First Editions, I am very glad to have read it.
Appreciative of the choice by the Harvard First Editions, I am very glad to have read it.
LibraryThing member Castlelass
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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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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LibraryThing member alexrichman
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.
Awards
Booker Prize (Longlist — 2021)
Costa Book Awards (Shortlist — Novel — 2021)
BookTube Prize (Octofinalist — Fiction — 2022)
Wales Book Of The Year (Winner — English Fiction — 2022)
HWA Crown Awards (Longlist — Gold — 2022)
Language
Original publication date
2021-05-27
Physical description
372 p.; 22.4 cm
ISBN
9780241466940