Luminous prose, rendered with sensitivity and without sentimentalism. An astonishing debut' Cherie Jones, author of HOW THE ONE-ARMED SISTER SWEEPS HER HOUSE

An Olive Grove in Ends Interview: Moses McKenzie – An Olive Grove in Ends

Rather than being a character or plot driven book, I feel like this was a writing driven book for me (if that makes sense?). I thought the prose was beautiful but I didn't really connect with any of the characters and I didn't feel the emotions I think the author intended for the reader to feel. The sad scenes didn't affect me in the way that they usually do and I just don't think this book was really for me. Announcing the arrival of a promising 23-year-old author whose work is wise beyond his years’ GUARDIAN I did feel like the reflections when living with the Pastor could have been shorter and I found my eyes skipping over some of that, but really not very much and that’s a weak criticism at best.

In Chapter 2, Sayon says "my mortality was as real to me as the soil I shovelled on to the aunts, uncles and cousins we buried…the funerals outnumbered even the weddings." How does his family history and their reputation in Ends impact his life as he comes of age? Somewhat, yes, it talks about religion and family. The town is referred to as Ends. Since the novel is full of religious imagery, I found in Revelation 11:4, there are two olive trees that symbolize the Holy Spirit's endless supply of anointing. Plus, there’s an olive grove with the family’s lineage painted in the front of the book, too. I assumed the old man was with the greenery and that he wouldn’t be long, so I tended the shop to pass the time. It would do well to take my mind from things. You know man’s gonna live here someday, cuz,’ I announced. Cuba screwed his face; he didn’t mean to doubt me, but he wasn’t accustomed to dreams. ‘How you gonna buy dis yard, akh? You need white people ps to buy dis – big man ting.’ ‘Don’t watch dat,’ I told him. ‘Man’ll find a way, truss me.’ No, I can’t imagine writing about any of the characters again, but I’m adapting it into a screenplay at the moment. But regarding writing another book, I’ve got too many ideas I want to do outside of this, rather than revisit this.

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As in any of the other manuscripts? Oh, no, no, no. He’s a character that was invented just for this. The difference between where I lived and where I wanted to be living was laughable. I wrung my hands as I walked and comforted myself with the knowledge that I would be rid of the filth soon; all I had to do was remain free. Key family members include: Cuba/Midnight – strictly the son of Sayon’s mother’s younger sister but very much a brother to Sayon from school through to their drug dealing partnership; Sayon’s own mother Erica – one of the few to leave the Hughes family, having married a Church pastor Errol Stewart and having largely abandoned all links to the Hughes, including to her own son from a young age; his older cousin Hakim – the other escapee from the family, having converted to Islam, married a Somali girl Elia (Sayon’s school friend) and running a bakery; Winnie – the drug addicted daughter of Nanny’s sister Auny Winifred and a rather (to me) confusing list of other cousins – Jamaal, Hakim, Killa, Bunny all seemingly marked by their criminal, womanising and violent tendencies. Sayon wrestles with his feelings for his girlfriend Shona, with her preacher father and his insistence on the Christian god, his cousin’s insistence on Allah, and with his best friend and cousin Cuba who he cannot imagine abandoning. His engrossing first-person narrative, lyrical and slangy by turns, is the vehicle for a tough yet tender story of faith and friendship, as well as money, knife crime and the failings of the British education system * Observer New Review, 10 Best Debut Novelists of 2022 *From 1st July 2021, VAT will be applicable to those EU countries where VAT is applied to books - this additional charge will be collected by Fed Ex (or the Royal Mail) at the time of delivery. Shipments to the USA & Canada: The community and location takes on a life of its own (just as Manderley in Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier does) from the descriptions of the smells, to the people who walk the streets and the slow colonisation of the gentrified neighbourhood by new white business owners. We see Sayon strong feelings about his community and family and how that impacts his decisions and relationships. This book has a very strong sense of place – set in the Stapleton Road area, described by Wikipedia as “a major thoroughfare in the English city of Bristol, running through the districts of Lawrence Hill and Easton. It is known for being very culturally diverse with many esoteric shops. However since the mid 20th century it has gained a reputation for having a high crime rate”. I set the novel in the area I was raised in. So the inspiration is just the area itself, you know, my home is the inspiration. I don’t mean my home as in my literal house. My home, as in my area and then the neighbouring area. I didn’t have to sit down and think about setting and place because that was what I lived. And then I wrote it for my little cousin. We spent the evening exploring the house, eating from the fridge and napping on the beds. We lived like kings until the day grew old and voices came from outside, adult voices. Cuba gripped my arm and we crept to the front door.

An Olive Grove in Ends by Moses McKenzie | Goodreads

Sayon’s long term girlfriend is Shona, now an up-and-coming music agent/producer she is also the daughter of a pastor – Lyle Jennings. Lyle’s Baptist church is more fundamentalist, and bible based than Errol’s more charismatic church and Shona is much closer to her parents than Sayon (in fact still living at home in a relatively idealistic home set up – note than we only really see Shona through Sayon’s eyes so we realise that her character and set up are idealised by him). Dey’ll fix it before you buy it, g, don’t worry,’ Cuba grinned, ‘and if dey don’t, I’ll send you some ps to cover it. It’s calm, bro. We’re in dis together, remember? Come, fam.’ He swept the broken slivers from the window with his sleeve and we wriggled through a slit wide enough only for ten-year-old boys.He’d had to push them up to his elbow to keep them in place. Cuba handed me one as I handed him some food from a cupboard. My only complaint is that it was excessive with the character Pastor Lyle. Other than that, it's worth the read. If I was only rating the writing and not the plot or the characters I would have given this five stars. I think this author is definitely going places and I can see why this book has been nominated for awards, I just didn't personally 'get on' with it.

An Olive Grove in Ends by Moses McKenzie review – an

The other really distinctive aspect of the novel is its religious underpinning. Each chapter starts with an epigraph – the majority bible verses (which typically fit the chapter well if not perfectly or clunkily) with some Jamaican proverbs and (particularly towards the end) some Quran verses. And the theme of religion and in particular sin/damnation/repentance/redemption is vital to the book, to Sayon’s dilemma and his journey and to the reaction of his mother, Nanny and prospective father-in-law to him and his decisions. In the book the national law as represented by the “Feds” is probably closer to an annoying and biased tax or occupational hazard rather than a rule to be respected – so that the justice both of the streets but particularly as mediated by religion is far more crucial. For the characters in the book some form of religious underpinning is taken almost as read and a choice between different shades of Christianity, Islam or Rastafarianism is more due to personal circumstances – for example with Sayon on a journey from Christianity to Islam informed really by his embrace of the need for some form of religious discipline alongside his rejection of what he sees as the hypocrisy of his parents. 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.A rare glimpse into the harsh realities of street life and love in luminous prose, rendered with sensitivity and without sentimentalism. An astonishing debut' Cherie Jones, author of HOW THE ONE-ARMED SISTER SWEEPS HER HOUSE