Product Description

SOCIETY WITHIN takes us back to the Greenside Estate, West London, scene of Courttia Newland's ground-breaking and hugely successful first novel, THE SCHOLAR. Newly arrived on the estate is Elisha: sweet, bright, sassy and just eighteen. As Elisha negotiates some new territory with more than fair share of dark corners, we take in the vividly interlocking lives of the other Greensiders: cool, ambitious Valerie, with some bad secrets to deal with; Little Stacey, looking for his first girl; Orin, dealing, stealing and trying to stay away from anything too lethal. Courttia Newland tells gripping stories from real lives - stories of dreamers and fighters, love and revenge, friendship and betrayal - in a language burning with energy, originality and conviction.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #296025 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
'Masterful ... Warm & witty ... an impressive achievement' GUARDIAN 'Consolidates his position as one of Britain's most important young black novelists ... a truly gifted storyteller' TIME OUT 'Fairly crackles with depictions of teenage temptations ... after the whitewash better known as NOTTING HILL, the antidote couldn't be better timed' i-D MAGAZINE 'Should have Irvine Welsh weeping into his overhyped beer' GLASGOW HERALD 'London, painfully real and surreal, anatomised and exposed.' MORNING STAR 'Newland guides us through a gritty struggle of urban deprivation...with unblinking panache... An impresively mature, post- TRAINSPOTTING book...Just read it.' OBSERVER 'Masterful ... Warm & witty ... an impressive achievement' TIME OUT 'Vividly rendered...Strong characterisation and richly authentic dialogue' TIME OUT

TIME OUT
'Vividly rendered...Strong characterisation and richly authentic dialogue'

About the Author
Courttia Newland is the twenty-five-year-old author of THE SCHOLAR. He has also contributed to various anthologies including DISCO 2000, NEW WRITERS 8, AFROBEAT and TEENAGE KICKS. Film rights to THE SCHOLAR have been optioned and he is working on the screenplay.

Customer Reviews

Non stop page turner.
This is a mixture of different storys all linked in a subtle way but makes an excellent read. The characters are strong and real and the imagery that forms in your mind throughout makes for compelling reading. What makes it so enjoyable is that it is so real and accurately written, you develop feelings for the individual characters within. The Scholar hit harder but this is still essential reading, you'll find it very hard to put the book down...well i did.

A disappointment if you've read 'The Scholar'
Although this book was a good read, it didn't come near emulating Newlands' first novel. After reading the absolutely outstanding 'The Scholar', I expected this to be as good. However hopefully Newland's next return to Greenside will be better, and I will definitely be buying it.

A dose of insightful reality
This story looks at life on a deprived london estate and it shows how a selection of different young people deal with their lifestyle. Some choose legitimate routes others fall into crime and drugs. All of their lives are inter-connected and it makes for a compelling and insightful read. The most refreshing and sociological book I've read for a long time. I couldn't put it down. I reccomend it to anyone over 16 but no younger as some of the subject matter is a bit graphic in some parts.