Pigeon English
{{Short description|Book by Stephen Kelman}}
{{about|the 2011 novel|the language topic|Pidgin English|the 2007 album|Pigeon English (album)|pigeons of England|List of pigeon breeds}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Pigeon English
| image = File:Pigeon English (Kelman novel).jpg
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| author = Stephen Kelman
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| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
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| published = 2011 (Bloomsbury Publishing)
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| media_type = Print (hardback)
| pages = 288
| isbn = 978-1408815687
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Pigeon English is the debut novel by English author Stephen Kelman. It is told from the point of view of Harrison Opoku, an eleven-year-old Ghanaian immigrant living on a tough London estate. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2011.
Plot
The novel begins with the death of a young boy on the fictional Dell Farm estate in an unspecified area of London. Harrison Opoku or 'Harri', is a recent Ghanaian immigrant living with his mother and older sister, Lydia. His father, younger sister and grandparents still live in Ghana, though they hope to move in the future. He becomes an amateur detective and tries to solve the murder of a boy who was murdered outside of a fast food restaurant. He experiences an extreme amount of gang warfare, immigration to the United Kingdom and poverty. As well as investigating the murder with his best friend Dean, Harrison shares with the reader his thoughts, impressions and experiences of growing up in an environment beset with pressures and threats. The novel explores his attempts to remain good despite the corrupting forces around him. Harrison then befriends a pigeon, which narrates part of the book.
Eventually, he traces the murderers as a gang of teenagers, only to be murdered at the end.
Publication
It was first published in March 2011 by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom.
Reception
The novel was critically acclaimed on publication{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/mar/13/pigeon-english-stephen-kelman-review | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Rachel | last=Aspden | title=Fiction (Books genre), Knife crime (News), Damilola Taylor, Gangs (Society), Books, Culture, Stephen Kelman | date=13 March 2011}} and was shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize.{{cite news |title=Man Booker Prize award ceremony |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19971295 |publisher=BBC News | location = UK | date=16 October 2012 | accessdate =16 October 2012}} It went on to be shortlisted for ten awards, including the Guardian First Book Award, Desmond Elliott Prize, and Galaxy National Book Award. The book became a bestseller, and has featured in a national campaign launched by the National Literacy Trust and the Booker Prize Foundation to encourage prisoners to read.{{cite web|url=http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/news/4901|title=Man Booker shortlisted author to inspire prisoners to read|publisher=}} It is also widely studied in schools and universities.
Stage adaptation
The novel is being adapted into a play by Fringe First winner Gbolahan Obisesan. The play is a co-commission between Bristol Old Vic Young Company and National Youth Theatre, and is directed by Miranda Cromwell.{{cite web|last=Morris|first=Tom|url=http://www.bristololdvic.org.uk/pigeon.html |title=Shows At Bristol Old Vic: Pigeon English}} The play performed at the Bristol Old Vic and 2013 Edinburgh Festival.{{cite web|last=Underbelly|first=Cowgate|url=https://www.underbelly.co.uk/node/3080896|title=Edinburgh Fringe {{!}} Underbelly|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130620221550/https://www.underbelly.co.uk/node/3080896|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-06-20}}