Darren McGarvey Knihy

*A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK*If all the best people are in all the top jobs, then why is Britain such a fucking bin fire?Britain is in a long-distance relationship with reality. A ravine cuts through it, partitioning the powerful from the powerless, the vocal from the voiceless, the fortunate from those too often forgotten. This distance dictates how we identify and relate to society's biggest issues - from homelessness and poverty to policing and overrun prisons - ultimately determining how, and whether, we strive to resolve them. So why, for generations, has a select group of people with very limited experience of social inequality been charged with discussing and debating it?I've sat on cold pavements with beggars, asking them why they would rather wander the streets than live in supported accommodation. I've pleaded with alcoholics to give sobriety one last shot before they end up dead - and read their obituaries in the paper weeks later. I've sat with youth workers at their wits' end as diversionary services are cut amid a surge in gang and knife violence. Too many people remain so far from this nightmarish social reality that even when they would earnestly wish to bring about change, they don't know where to start. So start here.Praise for Darren McGarvey:'The standout, authentic voice of a generation' Herald'Utterly compelling' Ian Rankin, New Statesman'Brilliant' Russell Brand'An absolutely fascinating individual' Owen Jones'Offer[s] an antidote to populist anger that transcends left and right... articulate and emotional' Financial Times'McGarvey is a rarity: a working-class writer who has fought to make the middle-class world hear what he has to say' Nick Cohen, Guardian

Wissen wir wirklich, was Armut bedeutet? Darren McGarvey, aufgewachsen in einem Glasgower Problemviertel, weiß es. Lange Zeit stand er selbst auf der anderen Seite eines Grabens, der unsere Gesellschaft immer tiefer spaltet. Er kennt die alltägliche Gewalt, die ständige Furcht und das Gefühl, nicht gehört zu werden. Die Apathie, die aus der Perspektivlosigkeit entsteht. McGarvey nimmt uns mit auf eine sehr persönliche Reise in diese Welt. Nicht um sie aus sicherer Distanz zu betrachten, sondern um sie von innen heraus zu verstehen. Und um endlich die richtigen Konsequenzen zu ziehen.

An autobiographical account of Darren McGarvey, aka the Scottish hip hop artist Loki's, childhood in a working class area in Scotland. He writes about his native Glasgow and the estate he grew up on, and the experiences he had. The book is partly a social commentary on youth in rundown areas in Scotland. Through his eyes we see a family life marred by poverty, abuse and addiction.

People from deprived communities all around Britain feel misunderstood and unheard. The author gives voice to their feelings and concerns, and the anger that is spilling over. Anger he says we will have to get used to, unless things change