My Once Upon a Time
By Diran Adebayo
Boy, although his origins are mysterious, hails from the southside of the city, a London some time in the near future which has become polarised by class, wealth and race. A private eye by trade, he is set a task by a mysterious client, seven days in which to find the perfect bride. Who will fit the shoe?
A knight on a quest, Boy drives the highways in his battered ride, from the gated wealth of the west to the low-lying arches and sprawling estates of the south. All roads lead to the legendary Race Man. Diran Adebayo sets his modern day fable against a noirish cityscape lit by the colours and argot of its inhabitants.
Originally published in 2000, this is a novel of remarkable prescience, anticipating the evolution of London into the great multicultural mega-city that it has become.
Born in London to Nigerian parents in 1968, Diran Adebayo has been hailed as one of the most original literary talents of his generation. His first novel, the acclaimed Some Kind of Black, broke new literary ground for the London novel and won him the 1995 Saga Prize, a Betty Trask Award, the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award, and the Writers Guild’s New Writer of the Year Award for 1996. He has also written stories for BBC TV and Radio, been a columnist for New Nation newspaper, and is a contributor to many national newspapers, including The Guardian and The Independent. He teaches creative writing at Kingston University, is a leading commentator on race in Britain and supports Tottenham Hotspur.
