03/21/2022
McKenzie’s beautiful debut, set in a predominantly British Jamaican neighborhood of Bristol, England, exhibits both a tenderness for the residents and an unflinching examination of their struggles. Sayon Hughes has fantasized since he was a child about owning a house outside the city. Despite early academic promise, Sayon has grown disillusioned after his school years with the almost impossible project of saving enough money through legitimate means, so, like several of his former classmates and relatives, he’s turned to dealing drugs. Then, Sayon kills a man who is assaulting his cousin Cuba. Wracked with guilt and the fear that his longtime girlfriend, Shona Jennings, will split if she finds out, he tries to go straight, moving into Shona’s parents’ house, only to encounter hypocrisy and cruelty from her pastor father. Questions of faith and its manifestations predominate in the novel’s second half, as Sayon grapples with whether to remain in the Christian church of his youth or to start anew with Islam. McKenzie renders the neighborhood’s rich and complicated social and familial networks as a study in contrasts, where violence and betrayal coexist with generosity and kindness. It’s a gorgeous debut that nurtures an unlikely sort of hope that’s predicated on countless losses. (May)
Set among a richly drawn cast in a Jamaican-Somali community in Bristol, An Olive Grove in Ends follows the turbulent, often painful childhood and teens of Sayon, a drug dealer trying to keep his crimes secret from the pastor’s daughter he’s in love with. His engrossing first-person narrative, lyrical and slangy by turns, is the vehicle for a tough yet tender story of faith and friendship.”—The Guardian
“This vivid, urgent debut grapples with fate and circumstance as it follows Sayon, an ambitious young dreamer whose turn to drug-dealing comes with brutal consequences.”—Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly
“A gripping, gritty coming-of-age story... McKenzie’s creation of this character is so full of heart and authenticity that we never stop caring about him, rooting for him to dig his way out of the ever deeper avalanche of trouble. With all its dialects and patois, this book is fantastic in audio and even more so because the author’s own brother, Louis McKenzie, an accomplished actor, reads it aloud.”—Marion Winik, WYPR Baltimore
“There is an impressive depth to McKenzie’s storytelling. Biblical references and Jamaican proverbs punctuate the narrative, while the grittiness is offset by an unexpected tenderness… The book’s skillful, knife-edge climax has a cinematic tension, fueled by the sad inevitability of a life lived on the streets. Brutal in places but always beautiful, An Olive Grove in Ends is a bullishly brilliant debut by a young author with a very bright future.”—Ashley Hickson-Lovence, The Observer
“A complex tale of family and faith that is also a thrilling page-turner… it’s so good, I might just read it again before the summer is up.”—Tom Beer, Kirkus
“McKenzie’s gripping debut proves him to be a keen-eyed new writer to watch.”—K.W. Colyard, Bustle
“Engrossing… McKenzie has delivered a remarkable debut full of wisdom.”—Ian Parker, I-Magazine
“An Olive Grove in Ends is a remarkable debut, bristling with sharp prose and daring originality. Moses McKenzie offers us a fascinating glimpse into the vibrant world of Ends, whose colorful inhabitants—Sayon in particular—will linger with readers long after the novel comes to a close.”—Nathan Harris, author of the New York Times bestseller The Sweetness of Water
“An Olive Grove in Ends chronicles the hard graft and grit of ghetto life in a poignant coming-of-age story rendered in the crackling song of a multi-ethnic UK street. McKenzie offers a rare glimpse into the harsh realities of street life and love in luminous prose, rendered with sensitivity and without sentimentalism. An astonishing debut novel!”—Cherie Jones, author of How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House
“An Olive Grove in Ends is just incredible! The story is completely gripping and expertly paced, the characterization is rounded and complex. I’m in awe of how fully the nuances of the relationships come through in such small details that speak large. And the language—oh my—what an impressive range of registers Moses hits with such beauty in the lyrical bits, such music in the dialogue, and such efficiency throughout. Zero fluff.”—Melissa Fu, author of Peach Blossom Spring
“What struck me most forcibly about An Olive Grove in Ends is the poetic strength and majesty of its prose—as the author himself might have it, ‘like clarified honey.’ From an author of such tender years, this consummately crafted work can only be a harbinger of a stellar and truly significant career. I urge you to read it.”—Patrick McCabe, two-time Booker Prize finalist and author of The Butcher Boy
“An Olive Grove in Ends is magnificent. Moses McKenzie’s talent is off the scale. It’s a long time since a novel gripped me so tightly . . . This is a phenomenally good novel, tense and thrilling and complex, with breath-stealing moments on every page.”—Donal Ryan, two-time Booker Prize nominee and author of The Spinning Heart
“Recalling Zadie Smith’s masterpiece White Teeth, this is the most exciting UK debut in years... Drug violence, religious strife, and a star-crossed romance play out in this Shakespearean tale set in a Bristol neighborhood of Caribbean and Somali immigrants called Ends… A gritty coming-of-age tale for the ages.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Sayon’s world is so rich to inhabit. His family and conflicts are alive and dynamic on every page, a testament to McKenzie’s electrifying sense of voice.”—Courtney Eathorne, Booklist
“Beautiful… McKenzie renders the neighborhood’s rich and complicated social and familial networks as a study in contrasts, where violence and betrayal coexist with generosity and kindness… An Olive Grove in Ends exhibits both a tenderness for the residents and an unflinching examination of their struggles… a gorgeous debut that nurtures an unlikely sort of hope.”—Publishers Weekly
★ 2022-03-02
Drug violence, religious strife, and a star-crossed romance play out in this Shakespearean tale set in a Bristol neighborhood of Caribbean and Somali immigrants called Ends.
Born into a large, "infamous" family of Pentecostal preachers with Jamaican roots, Sayon Hughes, the young narrator of this debut novel, is mostly raised by his grandmother alongside his many cousins. Along with them, he has inherited "generations of trauma passed on by relatives" and intensified by "a system intent on keeping us in place." Drawn into the drug trade by his cousin Cuba, whom he considers his brother, Sayon is arrested for dealing and serves six months in jail. The sentence is one of many setbacks that threaten his relationship with the bright and upstanding Shona Jennings, a Baptist preacher's daughter and aspiring record-label owner whom he and everyone else assumes he'll marry. "If looks could kill she had a knife at my neck," he says. After being pushed into a shocking act of violence, Sayon is so afraid of Shona’s finding out about the misdeed that he strikes a deal with her father, Pastor Lyle, who knows what happened but has his own dark secrets to keep. He won't tell his daughter about the incident if Sayon promises to cut ties with Cuba and the rest of his family, repent, and become born again while living in the Jennings house. There's no way that plan is going to work, but Pastor Lyle's open hatred of Muslim Somalis ultimately has a positive effect in awakening Sayon to Islam, a religion that makes sense to him. One of the many notable achievements of this remarkable debut by the 23-year-old McKenzie is to sustain our affection for Sayon even when he is acting badly. "Childhood and innocence are only synonymous to the privileged," he says. Recalling Zadie Smith's masterpiece White Teeth (2000), published when she was 25, this is the most exciting U.K. debut in years.
A gritty coming-of-age tale for the ages.
★ 09/01/2022
McKenzie's stunning debut is set in London's British Jamaican and Somali neighborhood known as Ends, where families contend with poverty, drug use, and religious tensions while searching for a way out of their fraught circumstances. Sayon yearns for nothing more than a charming house set apart from the chaos of Ends, where he can live with his longtime girlfriend and pastor's daughter, Shona, a paragon of beauty and goodness. Narrating his brother's work, Louis McKenzie describes how Sayon's plans unravel before his eyes. Before long, Sayon has served prison time for dealing drugs and has been party to a horrific murder—his dreams of a house on a hill seem impossibly far away. With a voice thrumming with rhythm and emotion, McKenzie channels the hustle of the streets, the intricacies of accents, tones, and voices, and the aching dread that fuels Sayon's life. His gritty narration is entirely authentic, resulting in an unparalleled listening experience. VERDICT Listeners will be wholly enveloped by this compelling, precisely narrated audio. Highly recommended for fans of Colson Whitehead's Harlem Shuffle or James McBride's Deacon King Kong.—Sarah Hashimoto
Louis McKenzie portrays indigent but hopeful Sayon Hughes as he grows up in the Caribbean-Somali area of Bristol, England. The Hughes family—large and loving—sell drugs to survive. Sayon is unforgettably rendered as he is torn between the street and his love for Shona and Elia, both flawlessly portrayed, whose friendship helps him to excel in school. As young men, Sayon and his cousin have each other’s backs—and the nature of their relationship produces devastating consequences. McKenzie amplifies vibrant food and clothing, along with the prevailing desperation, making the city of Bristol an ever-present character. Emotive descriptions of Christianity and Islam, which influence Sayon’s decisions, add depth. Audio is the only format in which to fully appreciate this stunning narrative. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Louis McKenzie portrays indigent but hopeful Sayon Hughes as he grows up in the Caribbean-Somali area of Bristol, England. The Hughes family—large and loving—sell drugs to survive. Sayon is unforgettably rendered as he is torn between the street and his love for Shona and Elia, both flawlessly portrayed, whose friendship helps him to excel in school. As young men, Sayon and his cousin have each other’s backs—and the nature of their relationship produces devastating consequences. McKenzie amplifies vibrant food and clothing, along with the prevailing desperation, making the city of Bristol an ever-present character. Emotive descriptions of Christianity and Islam, which influence Sayon’s decisions, add depth. Audio is the only format in which to fully appreciate this stunning narrative. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
