(Ebook) The White Family by Maggie Gee ISBN 9781846592157, 9780863563805, 0863563805, 1846592151

(Ebook) The White Family by Maggie Gee ISBN 9781846592157, 9780863563805, 0863563805, 1846592151

This ground-breaking novel tackles the taboo subject of racial hatred, as it looks for the roots of violence within one British family."Intensely touching, full of ironies, situational and verbal, [and] brilliantly connected with contemporary society."  -  Financial Times Alfred White, a London park-keeper, rules his home with a mixture of ferocity and tenderness that has estranged his three children. But family ties are strong, and when Alfred collapses on duty one day, they rush to be with him. His daughter's partner, Elroy, a black social worker, is brought face to face with Alfred's younger son Dirk, who hates and fears all black people. The scene is set for violence, and Alfred's wife May is forced to choose between justice and kinship. "A transcendent work, splitting open a family to bare the rough edges of prejudice, self-righteousness and petulant self-justification that we all recognise. The words of James Baldwin resonate throughout: “Books taught me that the things that tormented me the most were the things that connected me to everyone who was alive and who had ever been alive."  -  Daily Telegraph The White Family tackles an unspeakable subject with quiet courage. Beautifully written, it tells the complex story of racism from the point of view of the perpetrators. The result is an astonishing examination of the changes, complexities and difficulties at the heart of a multi-ethnic suburban community."  -  The Big Issue "Gee's book is bold because of her willingness to write about the living, shifting present. An unashamedly contemporary novel - a millennium novel, if you like - that embraces the ideological and emotional chaos of our times."  - The Independent