The rudeboys themselves are an amalgamation of conflicting cultural notions. Their independence leads them to distance themselves from some of their parents' traditions. This inevitably leads to what Jas calls "complicated family-related shit." At the same time, they are proud of their heritage and their "desiness." One of the sad historical legacies they tend to embrace is hatred for their Muslim counterparts. Thus, when Hardjit fights it is to stomp a gora for allegedly referring to them as "Pakis" and in a pre-arranged battle with his counterpart in a Muslim rudeboy group.
The latter scene leads an old school teacher to attempt to rescue Hardjit's group, or at least Jas. He hooks the four up with Sanjay, a former desi student who studied economics at Cambridge. Sanjay introduces the group to "Bling Bling economics," takes Jas in particular under his wing and the boys are soon living large as they move from being menial cogs in the stolen phone trade to relatively significant players.
Sanjay also helps Jas achieve one of his dreams, dating Samira, the fittest (best-looking) Muslim girl around. Jas has to hide that relationship from his friends, who believe it wrong to date a Muslim. Samira's brothers take a similar view of Muslim girls going out with non-Muslims. The reelationship eventually becomes fraught with trouble for Jas, his friends, and their burgeoning mobile phone enterprise.
Malkani adeptly combines the threads of each of these elemental struggles into a generally workable whole. Readers will undoubtedly have differing opinions on a surprising plot twist at the end. Some may think it bolsters the novel's impact. Others will see it as not much more than a highly improbable contrivance. I lean toward the former but freely admit there's merit in the latter. Yet even if the end might ring hollow, it does not utterly invalidate Jas' unique voice and perspective on life and conflict in a thoroughly multicultural environment.
Article comments
1 - Natalie Bennett
This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States. Nice work!
2 - Jeff
Can someone post the glossary? I have a copy bought in Canada which doesn't have it. Even though a lot of it is easy to figure out it would be really nice to see the real glossary. E.g. pendhu - I thought it probably was 'prick' as derived from 'pendulum' but above it says 'fool'.
'Tutty' is obviously like 'sh*t' or but where did it come from? Thanks.
3 - SFC SKI
This sounds like a book worth reading. The language alone should make it worthwhile for anyone who likes to learn slang. Thanks for the tip.