Product Description

Sean and Cory are cousins with very different attitudes to life. Sean is studying while Cory, involved in drug dealing, has stabbed a man who was meant to be taking part in an armed robbery with Levi, a notorious crack dealer. Soon, Sean finds himself drawn into this world of easy money and drugs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #771602 in Books
• Published on: 1997-04-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
'Vividly rendered...Strong characterisation and richly authentic dialogue' TIME OUT 'A glimpse into an urban nightmare where violence is casual, drugs are the norm...a freshness in the details and in the dialogue - frighteningly believable.' THE INDEPENDENT 'Real tension and suspense... an abosorbing debut from a writer who clearly has important things to say.' OBSERVER 'A powerfully written debut novel.' WALES ON SUNDAY 'Sharp and fiesty, this west side story is dripping with real suspense.' IRELAND THE EXAMINER 'the characterisation and convincing sense of place give the story a confident air of plausibility... A distinctive and unsentimental perspective.' THE TIMES 'A debut novel that marks a major new talent- an authentic voice of Afro-Carribean experience on a West London housing estate.' BOOKS MAGAZINE 'Newland has produced a pot boiler of sorts, with a story line pacy enough to keep the reader interested... An entertaining and pertinent read.' PRIDE MAGAZINE 'full of street-smart wisdom and an ingenious narrative drive.' ARENA

INDEPENDENT
'A glimpse into an urban nightmare where violence is casual, drugs are the norm...'

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

Customer Reviews

My Poor Stomach
This book was, and is, excellent. I'm always very weary of giving anything a perfect score (after all, what is perfect?), but there was no 4.75, so a 5/5 will have to do. I actually read 'The Scholar' 2 years after reading 'Society Within' (which I studied for A level), then I read the reviews on this site; the majority stating that 'The Scholar' was much better. I enjoyed both books, as they deal with an aspect of life in the UK hardly ever really sufficiently represented on television, let alone in text. 'Society Within' draws you into the marginalised societies that not only the young characters are living in, but also young people today, right under our own noses: "A world inside another world, operatin' with its own rules and regulations, its own terms and understandin's" (p.132). Reading it, also allowed me to reflect upon the dialect used by the (mainly black) characters, often seen as substandard in our society, yet Newland forces it upon the reader; if you want to understand and enjoy this book, you have to also make the effort to see their dialect as standard. It commands respect. In addition, I enjoyed the love-story in 'Society Within', as well as the mixture of harsh, and at times vile, occurrences on the Greenside Estate.
Still, most of the events that occur in 'The Scholar' are much more harsh, which is one of the reasons why I feel some people prefer Newland's first novel. He's less sympathetic to the reader. At times a simple reflection of life itself, to the extent that I found myself so emotionally involved, so caught up in the fast-paced, manic nature of the events that sometimes all I could do was read and read, whilst at others I was too afraid of what the next page/paragraph would bring. It took me 3-4days to read the last 20 pages, simply because I was so scared that I knew how it would end. I was wrong. In fact, I think that happened a lot in this novel; Newland is so hard to predict. I liked that though- it meant I was never bored. Even the ending had me reaching for my 'Society Within' book, simply so that I could try & piece together what happened next to Sean & Cory, but there still wasn't enough information!!
MR. NEWLAND: PLEASE WRITE A SCRIPT!!! The world of movies needs writers such as yourself! If you don't, you may well get a letter from me a few years from now stating that I've HAD to turn your novels into a script.. Haha!
Both books are excellent, and to some degree Newland writes them with different styles, so why not simply get them both. That is... if you can stomach it. x

Fresh British Talent
This is a collector's item! Newland joins the wave in young british black authors. His characters are engaging, believable and authentic. Sean and Cory are cousins who have grown up together. Whereas one is interested in educating and furthering himself, the other is more immersed in the steetlife. Cory gets too deep and Sean steps in. Only to undergo a complete transformation. The once studious cousin is behaving in a manner even Cory is shocked at. The rest of the plot centres on Cory sorting out his life and the people around him. The book really came alive for me and I felt like I was watching a movie because it is very cinematic and fast paced. A real page turner!

Highly Recommend This!
I don't have anything bad to say about this book, I started reading it and within hours I'd nearly finished it, it is sooo hard to put down. Don't be fooled into thinking that it's just another ghetto book where they just kill one another and sell drugs; it's actually a very good story about life on a West London estate and the writer manages to capture you so strongly that you feel like you know Cory & Sean and you get attatched! The follow-up 'Society Within' isn't as good as the first though.