Gabriel Krauze is a writer from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, known for his

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

nominated debut ''Who They Was'', an

autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel, also known as an autobiographical fiction, fictional autobiography, or autobiographical fiction novel, is a type of novel which uses autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The ...

detailing his life of crime and involvement in the gang culture of South Kilburn.

Early life

Krauze was born in London in 1990 to a Polish immigrant family. He spent his adolescence living in the notorious South Kilburn housing estate where he was immersed in the gang culture of northwest London, ending up in a young offenders institute, while at the same time studying to obtain a degree in English Literature at Queen Mary University.

Career

Krauze initially wrote several short stories for

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

, starting with his first, ''The Rape of Dina'', in 2015.

''Who They Was''

He has published a long form work since then. 4th Estate won the rights to his debut novel in 2019 and the book was released in September 2020. Before it was even published and available to the wider public, ''Who They Was'' was longlisted for the

. Written entirely in the voice and slang of a young criminal from northwest London, and frequently dispensing with grammatical and syntactical conventions, the book is an autobiographical account of gang life in London as well as being an exploration of Nietzschean morality. The author has described his own work as being a "moral confrontation" with the reader, which doesn't seek to provide the constructed satisfaction of a narrative arc that ends in redemption. The book is controversial, with frequent depictions of graphic violence, and one of the Booker Prize judges, author and poet

Lemn Sissay Lemn Sissay FRSL (born 21 May 1967) is a British author and broadcaster. He was the official poet of the 2012 London Olympics, was chancellor of the University of Manchester from 2015 until 2022, and joined the Foundling Museum's board of trus ...

, stated, "I had to have a shower after I read it." Reviews were nevertheless generally favourable, praising the unerring account of gang life and philosophical exploration of morality, with some criticising the explicit depictions of

sex Sex is the biological trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. During sexual reproduction, a male and a female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an offspring that inheri ...

and ultraviolence. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' summed the novel as a "gritty read for its gore, drugs, and profanity, but possessed of a raw and honest eloquence." It was listed in ''Time'''s 100 Must-Read Books of 2021 and has received support from the likes of

Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist and short story writer. His 1993 novel ''Trainspotting (novel), Trainspotting'' was made into a Trainspotting (film), film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, ...

. Krauze has since been described by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' as "an anomaly in British publishing", on account of his gang associations, criminal past, and his frequent wearing of diamond-encrusted

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Awards

His work of autobiographic fiction was longlisted for multiple awards, including the 2020 Booker Prize. It was among 12 books. In the reading guide, The Booker Prizes described it as an "urgent and electrifying work of autofiction: the first-hand account of a young man who has lived a life of violent crime, and who expresses it boldly, accurately, and at times even beautifully." They challenged readers to consider the significance of the novel's description of violence given that it reflected reality, the strong sense of place and how it's achieved, and reasons for why it was written in unconventional prose, incorporating slang on purpose. The 2021 Dylan Thomas Prize had a record nine new writers on its longlist, including Krauze's "brutal novel based on a personal experience of London gang violence."

Biblio

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krauze, Gabriel Living people Writers from the London Borough of Brent English writers English people of Polish descent People from Kilburn, London 1986 births