Krauze has never written anything that has interested me to date; nor did this very much in all honesty. Rather hard to get into the stream of the story, or care very much about the people.

The opening chapter is one of the most immersive chapters I've ever experienced.
But after that it sort of dragged and I decided this very challenging read is ultimately not for me I DNF'd at 38%

I was really keen to read this one as I’d seen rave reviews and also that it was long listed for the Booker Prize. So I dived in.

I’m really sorry to say that this book was not for me at all. I really struggled to engage with the main character (this is apparently an autobiographical account of Krauze’s time as a youth in a London gang) and the events and shenanigans that he got up to. There just didn’t seem to be any storyline other than rehashing his robbing, thieving and drug dealing whilst trying to get an English degree.

This book felt like it was glorifying violence and gang behaviour. This was a hard read on two accounts: one because it was hard to understand the gang-speak, and two because of the content (retelling of events and detail of violence inflicted to his victims, attitudes to the victims and women he came across). Be warned there content warnings galore with this one.

Thanks to NetGalley, the team at 4th Estate Books and the author for the opportunity to read this review copy.

After reading The Young Team and the author recommending this book, I knew I had to read this straight away.

This is an extremely enlightening and thought provoking book. At first it took me a while to get into the writing style, but once I had grasped that I became immersed in the writer’s world and found it very fascinating.

This is a truly honest book, showing the ups and downs of life as part of a gang in London and there were definitely some eye opening moments for me! The reality in this book is worlds apart from mine but I found this a real education and made me really think about the inequality that surrounds us in life today

Thank you to Fourth Estate for ARC of The Who They Was in exchange for an honest review.

I read the entire booker longlist in 2020 and if Shuggie Bain didn't win I wanted this book to take the prize. Krauze did a fantastic job showing me a part of London I have never seen or experienced. With a smattering of patois, and his brilliant use of sociolect and idiolect made this book an absolutely compelling read.

Krauze (Snoopz) gives us a fantastic introduction into how sociology and social psychology causes injuries to different classes and the massive divide we know and choose to close our eyes to. Krauze luckily starts seeing the world for what it is.

A must read.

This is a tough book to finish - not because of the violence or unrepentant main character - but because you are totally disassociated with the characters. Written like a memoir with photographs of the author in his gangster costume - it is difficult to like the protagonist. We have a philosopher gangster who is as active in university as he is with his crime sheet.

After a particularly gruesome shootout, he is seen discussing morality by Nietzsche in his class.

“Morality is just a rule of behaviour relative to the level of danger in which individuals live. If you’re living in dangerous times, you can’t afford to live according to moral structures the way someone who lives in safety and peace can.”

The violence escalates from minor aggressions at home to every possible means of making money from peddling drugs to armed robbery. The motive is mostly boredom or the challenge and he keeps getting the benefit of being a white guy (as mentioned by him). The tone is never justifying any of his action and that in itself is an achievement.

As for the other characters - who are realistic but totally unlikeable - I feel it did not have any arcs. People in the here and now - that's about it. The violence was mostly unpalatable - but then violence never is.

A good book - not for me.

Thank you Netgalley and 4th estate for the ARC which I finally finished!

Snoopz lives in South KIlburn, couch surfing at friends' houses as his lifestyle and attitude have made it too difficult to live with his parents.

As he acknowledges, his life is too difficult for many readers to understand. His worldview is shaped by where he lives and his life is about respect and not being part of the daily grind. He robs, deals drugs, assaults and kills without moral compunction. He draws on the works of Nietszche to explain his apparent lack of morality.

His life is spent chilling with friends, punctuated by bursts of violence and robbery to fund a lifestyle where status is gained through fashion choices - nice clothes and trainers, expensive watches etc. Unusually, his criminality plays second fiddle to his university education. Snoopz is intelligent and gifted, which makes his life choices even more bewildering.

There is no guilt or remorse and the threat of violence is ever-present. This is a very male story: women are edefined in terms of sexual attraction. The story is written in the language of the street but most of the slang is reasonably easy to understand within the context.

As an insight into the life of a gangster, this is illuminating. But this is a story lacking in optimism. Unless and until there is a dramatic change in society, urban violence will ber a way of life for many youths.

This reader found the final sentence rather puzzling - if anyone can supply an explanation, I'd be most grateful.

This was a pretty interesting book. From the start there was some high action happening and you really get thrown into it. As I was reading, I began to realise that this was probably somewhat autobiographical, yet I don't recall that being written anywhere, we'll, not until the "About the Author" section.

The writing style was strange; it almost felt like stream of consciousness, no speech marks, long rambly sentences, that sort of thing. However, although I initally wasn't sure how I'd feel about that, I feel like it made the pacing faster and had me more absorbed.
It's cleverly woven how beautiful some of Gabriel's words are (particularly when discussing his uni lectures) in stark contrast to his interactions with his gang and their criminal activities. It was an interesting dynamic to show his two worlds, yet I found that he wasn't ever one or the other, he was always both and you could see that in the general way he lived, for example, how he would still bring up random literary comments to his friends at home, but still wear things like his grillz and talk this intense slang relating to murder, drugs, etc, in his classes/to his peers at university.

Unfortunately, I did find that after completing this book, I'm almost left wondering what the point was. I felt like it gave a really good look at the perspective of gang life in the UK and how that can be, and it was interestingly contrasted with uni life, through the perspective of Gabriel, of which had both of those going for him, simultaneously, but other than that I just felt like I was waiting for this turning point to come, and it never did.
I didn't really feel like I got the message, if there is one, and am just left feeling like I may have wasted my time reading this. But then again, real life doesn't always have a turning point or a massive happy ending and Gabriel's story isn't over. In fact, I guess he he did sort of have this turning point I was craving, but in a more subtle, everyday, realistic way. If I look at it more that way, I grasp some more merit from its telling. It is his truth, after all.

I'm thinking of watching or reading some author interviews soon, to see if I can understand a bit more where the he was going with this, because it almost felt like a diary of sorts, just glorifying these crimes he was committing and most oftentimes getting away with, and had I known that it wasn't necessarily going to be a "moral of the story" kind of outcome, or if I had checked my expectations, I may have got more out of this.

Wonderful. Takes a while to settle into the very distinctive voice but once you have done so, it's a stunning account of a life of terrifyingly matter-of-fact violence and twisted status.

Snoopz is young man from a polish family living in London. His twin brother is an accomplished musician, his father a cartoonist, but he has been drawn to a life of violence and crime in inner-city London. Hanging out with kids from a nearby estate he smokes drugs and commits violent street robberies. The novel opens with a violent and vicious robbery of a woman on the street. All the while though, he’s also studying for an English degree and the violence and thuggery is interspersed with descriptions of seminars and lectures.

The author, Gabriel Krauze, was himself engaged in this life, indeed this is clearly a very thinly disguised memoir, there being many similarities between Snoopz and himself, and this lends the text a certain credibility.

One thing of note is gangs are rarely mentioned and Snoopz himself appears to have no particular affiliation. Gangs are constantly in the news at the moment, yet recently I met someone who works in prisons who told me that their prevalence is exaggerated, that often police claim offenders are part of a gang as they know it plays well with juries, but really it’s just a group of mates. That certainly seems the case here, Snoopz and his friend just rob people for money and smoke drugs together and are not part of any wider criminal enterprise.

The best element of this novel is the juxtaposition between the protagonist’s English studies and his criminality. In particular he takes Nietzsche’s work to heart, the philosopher’s writings on morality justifying the criminality and violence he commits against others. When he discusses morality with a seminar group it really is quite chilling, for we the reader knows his secret, that this isn't just an academic exercise for him.

In many ways Who They Was is a very nihilistic novel. While there is a character arc in that the protagonist grows out of crime, there’s no regret or remorse for what he’s done. In many ways this reminded me of Anthony Burgess’s Clockwork Orange (the novel, not the film), the protagonist of which never really comes to feel any contrition. This in itself is unsettling, though perhaps honest. In fiction we’re led to belief that people who commit crimes face comeuppance, or at least feel shame, but in reality, it’s as likely that just as many don’t.

Who They Was is a disconcerting and challenging novel and one that’s well worth a read.

Thanks to NetGalley and The Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Who They Was is a semi-autobiographical account of gang life in inner city London written in the road man vernacular. While I like this book, it's one of those infuriating reads that had me asking 'but why' constantly. In parts shocking and horrific, and then laugh out loud funny (to me at least) and thought provoking, it did feel like an authentic, candid and voyeuristic account of the daily life of a young man growing up in a conflicted environment and actively choosing to descend down the wrong path. The lack of real explanations or redemption is frustrating but actually adds more drama to the story telling, but then you remember this is all real and it leaves you with a hollow feeling that this is reality for many people.

Gritty and not for the faint hearted, I would recommend this.

This is not the first book to cover such issues, and it's good to hear from different voices but I feel somewhat bothered by how this book has been promoted given the background of the author and his connections compared to others. This is a criticism of the publishing industry and not the author or his work, but think this must be addressed and it would be remiss of me not to point this out.

This book gets under your skin like an itch you can’t quite scratch. I have lived in London most of my life and in particular West Hampstead/Kilburn area and I never knew this other world existed. This is an important book which hopefully will educate a wider audience and help to change things. I’m pleased to see it’s been put on the Booker list, which will hopefully get it to more people. The stories within the book are violent but heart wrenchingly tragic and the style of writing in the vernacular is easy to get into and adds to the reality. A great piece of honest writing

A 3.5 star read. This book isn’t for the faint of heart. From the outset this book dives into the criminal underbelly of London urban crime in the 21st century. As a reader,we are immersed from the first chapter into a world swarming with gang shootouts, drug dealers, postcode warfare and armed robbery. A world the author lived and breathed growing up. From this unique autobiographical perspective Gabriel Krauze helps the reader traverse a side of London far removed from the tourist hotspots the city is renown for. A brutal and harsh look at the cold reality of knife and gun crime in the English capital. This debut novel sears with an authentic vernacular style and a poignant reflective undertone.

I would have rated this novel higher as the own voices narrative of the criminal underworld of London is both powerful and breathtaking. However it just missed out on a 4 star rating as the length of the novel was too long for me and the development of the plot too slow.

Thanks to 4th Estate/William Collins, NetGalley and Gabriel Krauze for a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book after The Discomfort of Evening by Rijneveld, which I wouldn't recommend... Both aren't very uplifting, and both contain a lot of violence. Who They Was is about violence and gang life on the streets of London, South Kilburn to be specific. Gabriel/Snoopz robs and stabs people, beats people up and is dealing drugs. Yeah, he's a real tough guy. On the other hand, he's also going to university and comes from a middle class background. A fascinating idea.
It's fast paced and on the whole an OK read, but I disliked the fact that there's hardly any character development. Snoopz is rather ruthless, self-centered and never thinks over his actions, never has any regrets or doubts, which to be honest just didn't make him a very interesting character.
Thank you 4th Estate and Nertgally for the ARC.

The language, energy and style plunges you straight into the heart of this book and the pace is extraordinary. A refreshing inclusion on the Booker long list and a window into a world I had never really glimpsed before

Following an explosive opening chapter, I struggled to stay with this due to the style of writing (I really tried!). However, I have a feeling this will be brilliant to listen to as an audiobook so I’ll be seeking that out.

I'm clearly an outlier with my views on this one - this has been universally raved about by many people whose opinions I respect and all over the media - but I found this to be a slog. It felt like various violent, inconsequential events one after another, with little link between chapters. The book opens with a violent scene which was memorable, but soon after I began to feel inured to the violence, and there felt like there was nothing propelling the story forward.

Not for me, but I'm glad others have found something to enjoy in this cool and edgy debut.

I was intrigued to see that this book has been selected for the longlist Booker Prize for this year and I can see why it might well be a contentious choice. It is narrated in London slang which I found difficult to get my head around and certainly meant re-reading at times. However, quite quickly you get into the rhythm of the language and whilst I did not find it melodic it certainly has its own vibrancy and colour.

Described as Literary Non-Fiction this book is the auto-biography of the teenage years of Gabriel Krauze (Snoopz) the son of Polish immigrants who lived in South Kilburn in 2007. Witnessing the power and money that the gangs of the area were able to accumulate from their illegal activities it was inevitable that Snoopz would become involved. We first witness his involvement when he and his friend Gotti assault a woman on her doorstep in front of her son to steal her diamond ring and her Rolex watch. Meanwhile his parents are anxious about the life their son has chosen; his mother barely speaking to him and all their fears ignored by Krauze. They never know where he is or what he is doing.

However, Snoopz is an enigma for he is aware that this life is not good and he seeks to better himself by studying English at university. His ‘bad’ life continued, drug-taking, drug-dealing, robbery, assault, and a greater involvement with gang culture.

This is violent, shocking and thought-provoking and ultimately heart-breaking as it illustrates the eroding of his emotions and his capacity for empathy. Ultimately all his relationships flounder under the weight of his decisions and it is gratifying to know that ultimately he was able to escape the lifestyle.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Krauze is a fresh new voice and one that needs to be heard. This book was very powerful in its attempts to understand and rationalise the issues around growing up in London and being born into a certain type of life from which it is almost impossible to escape, perpetuating the cycle of violence and a particular crisis of masculinity. It's very hard to say I enjoyed this book - more that is was an uncomfortable but necessary read. My one criticism is around the lack of female perspective and general negative attitude towards female characters, which I know is probably in keeping with the perspective of the protagonist but made it harder for me to read, as a woman.

I read this autobiographical novel back in February and I’ve thought about it a lot since then. Who They Was is an adrenaline rush in a book: it's raw and relentless, powerful and shocking. It’s truly one of the most astounding books I have ever read.⁣ I had such a visceral reaction reading this novel. I would feel my heart pounding in my chest, or suddenly realise I had been holding my breath. I haven't reacted to a book so physically in a long time.
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Krauze masterfully blends beautiful, eloquent language and imagery with raw violence. This may seem like a juxtaposition but he weaves these two worlds together brilliantly, highlighting both crossovers and stark differences. This is my favourite passage (he plays with language phenomenally):

"𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘖𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐’𝘮 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘴. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬; 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘦-𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢 𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘰𝘯𝘦-𝘰𝘧𝘧, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺."
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In his interview with Gabriel Krauze, Michael Odell (The Times) writes: “A bit like reading Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange, once the reader masters the argot, they are granted access to an elusive subculture”. This is the perfect comparison.

For me, it's books that challenge us and make us inquisitive that are most deserving of literary prizes. I'm thrilled that this debut has been longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, it’s a winner in my eyes.⁣