Customer Reviews

THE MESSIAH OF GREEN STREET

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...it is set in Upton Park, an area in London, and has a multi-cultural background with which I'm not that familiar being that I'm American and Protestant. However, the unfamiliarity of the book's universe drew me in rather quickly. The book begins by telling of the birth of a child to Bangladeshi parents in a London suburb.

This child, who is named Sahil, is considered a sort of "messiah" by his community and others being that he is born multi-racial with the features of (and I quote from the book): "the nose of a Jew, the lips of a black man, the hair of an Asian, the build of a caucasian, and the eyes of a lost Indian tribesman." Also, the baby is born "big, too big for a newborn baby."

He is named Sahil, and it is discovered that he is able to speak in "perfect Arabic and Hebrew" from the moment of birth! Definitely, this child is a prodigy by any description, and the book tells of how his birth affects his community.

I don't want to give any more of the story away but I find it interesting to read about how Sahil's appearance in a disenfranchised, dispossessed, and superstitious community and people affects their lives and their beliefs.

I must say that I felt slightly uncomfortable reading this book. I try hard not to judge people by their appearance, and having the description of the baby put in the terms as quoted above from the book made me wonder if the book was (and its author) was racist. But they are not. And I think that my feeling unsettled by this description helped me enter into the universe of the story being aware of personal politically correct baggage of my own (if I can term it such).

It is a good book and I recommend it. Just know that you'll have some uncomfortable moments as you get used to the beginning.