Face - Softcover

Zephaniah, Mr Benjamin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0435125397 ISBN 13: 9780435125394

Publisher: Heinemann, 2001

Synopsis

Everything is going Martin's way. The holidays have started, he's got a gorgeous girlfriend and he's the coolest dancer around. But his world is turned upside down by a crash in a stolen car. Martin now has to come to terms with more than just his facial injuries.

About this title

Review:

In what he has described as the "new East End"--Caribbean and African and Asian people, but also a lot of the old white community who have extended families the same way that we always had"--Benjamin Zephaniah is something of a poet hero: a "black spokesman and political poet" according to critic, John Walsh. Set in this East End of fish and chips and curry, rap clubs and racism--"Many of the shops had metal shutters on their windows and doors to protect them from racist attacks"--Face is the story of Martin Turner and his "gang of three": their reactions when "something terrible" happens to Martin's face. Aimed (probably) at older children and teenagers, the novel skirts allegory. After a night in a local rap club--when Martin has to overcome a certain sense that blacks are "just different"--the (joy)ride accident which destroys his face propels Martin into a world where he has to learn to "deal with other people's prejudices". It's a world of pain, sometimes hatred, which, if anything, Zephaniah underplays here: this is Martin's tale of winning despite the odds. But that discretion may well help to jolt the imagination towards one of the underlying visions of Face: an East End where the white teen boys know they're not going to "get away with a racist remark here". --Vicky Lebeau

Review:

"The thing that hits you immediately when reading this play is the wonderful sense of pace that the narrative seems to possess. The story shifts seamlessly between characters and sweeps the reader/audience into the world of the play immediately." Mike Vogler, Head of Drama "The story of Martin and his experiences after a car accident burnt and damaged his face is fast-moving and will be of interest to students reading this in the classroom as a play." Lucy English, Head of English"

About this edition

• Publisher: Heinemann
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0435125397
• ISBN 13: 9780435125394
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160