The Fortune Men

A Novel

By: Nadifa Mohamed

Narrated by: Hugh Quarshie

BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST • Based on a true event, this novel is “a blues song cut straight from the heart ... about the unjust death of an innocent Black man caught up in a corrupt system” (Walter Mosley, best-selling author of Devil in a Blue Dress).

In Cardiff, Wales in 1952, Mahmood Mattan, a young Somali sailor, is accused of a crime he did not commit: the brutal killing of Violet Volacki, a shopkeeper from Tiger Bay. At first, Mahmood believes he can ignore the fingers pointing his way; he may be a gambler and a petty thief, but he is no murderer. He is a father of three, secure in his innocence and his belief in British justice.

But as the trial draws closer, his prospect for freedom dwindles. Now, Mahmood must stage a terrifying fight for his life, with all the chips stacked against him: a shoddy investigation, an inhumane legal system, and, most evidently, pervasive and deep-rooted racism at every step.

Under the shadow of the hangman's noose, Mahmood begins to realize that even the truth may not be enough to save him. A haunting tale of miscarried justice, this book offers a chilling look at the dark corners of our humanity.

©2022 Nadifa Mohamed (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST • A COSTA BOOK AWARD NOMINEE • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: THE GUARDIAN AND THE NEW YORKER

“A potent, pointed novel . . . Mohamed is a big talent, and she’s only getting started.”—Dwight Garner, The New York Times

“Equally informative and moving . . . The immediate allure of the novel is the vibrancy of Mohamed’s prose, her ability to capture the complicated culture of Cardiff and the sound of tortured optimism. . . . The horrific finale of The Fortune Men is never in doubt, but for more than 200 pages Mohamed still creates a sharp sense of suspense by pulling us right into Mahmood’s world as his life tilts and then crashes. . . . There’s a natural grandeur to her portrayal of this ordinary man caught in the city’s gears. Readers will hear echoes of Dostoevsky and Kafka in her re-creation of this nightmare. . . . With The Fortune Men, Mohamed has given us a clear vision of so many victims caught in the maw of racist legal systems.”—Ron Charles, The Washington Post

“Brilliantly depicts the complexities of community within the Black diaspora . . . Mohamed balances colonial history and violence with the evocative interior lives of Mahmood and Violet Volacki. . . . After Mahmood’s arrest, the novel shifts its focus to the British criminal justice system, providing a visceral account of the protagonist’s carceral experience. . . . Mohamed manages such tender detail even while zooming out on the British prison and court systems more broadly.”—Nicole R. Fleetwood, The New York Times

Tragedy in Cardiff

“The Fortune Men” is based on the true story of a Somali immigrant in Tiger Bay, Wales, who is wrongly accused in 1952 of slitting the throat of an older white woman in her shop. Mahmood Mattan is proud, frustrated and angry, a petty criminal but not a murderer. The society around him is multi-ethnic, with sailors and others from around the world, but it is also poor and racist. Mattan’s own lawyer refers to him as a savage. The novel takes some time getting going, but it becomes more compelling as the police build their case against Mattan. I felt tremendous sympathy for Mattan, his wife and their three mixed-race children. Minor characters were well drawn.

The narrator does an excellent job with Mattan’s accent, but the other accents are a mishmash.

Excellent and unexpected

I really loved this book: the writing, the story, and the narration. It is harsh though very much worth it.

Narration makes it difficult to listen to

Need to be polylingual on East Indian and African accents to understand this novel. I could mot differentiate between the characters. Assume it’s good literature as short-listed for Booker. But from listening I have no idea!

Really poor accents

The narrator was unable to capture the various accents of the characters. For example the Jewish character accents were completely wrong. They sounded a bit Irish. The Jamaican and other accents too. It was so bad I couldn’t listen to more than the quarter. Audible should ensure that narrators know the correct spoken accents of characters appropriate to the time periods in which they lived, as set out in the novel.