The Fortune Men, Nadifa Mohamed, author; Hugh Quarshie, narrator
This is a heartbreaking story about a young Somali man. He left home and family to sail the seas in search of new experiences and his future. He was strangely innocent about certain ways of life and very naïve regarding others. He believed that his G-d would see his goodness and always guide and help him. When he married and settled down, in Cardiff, Wales, he was unable to adjust to the demands of society, and was perhaps justified in his belief that the world was unjust to people with his color skin. He always pushed the envelope, though, and then blamed others and circumstances for his poor choices and petty crimes. Ultimately, however, it was his skin color, so different from everyone else around him in Cardiff, that determined his fate.
Mahmood was not a man of virtue, since he was guilty of rather poor behavior in order to get by or just for the thrill it gave him. He loved to gamble and lied frequently to cover up his many transgressions. He was often rude and made idle threats of violence, which he did not carry out, since he was never a violent man. He always tried to act more important than he actually was which was not a winning personality trait. Although he was devoted to his Muslim faith, he married a woman who was white and not a Muslim. Her family resented him. He was, however, capable of great love for his wife and their three sons. Although they lived apart, because of his behavior, she also loved him and remained loyal throughout the travails of their life together. He always maintained the hope of being reunited with them.
When a Jewish shopkeeper was murdered, the curtain came down on Mahmood’s dreams. He was accused of the murder, and his previous criminal behavior, coupled with his habit of lying, made his defense difficult. Because of his abrasive personality, he had not made friends easily, but rather made many enemies who were only too eager to strike back at him. Others simply saw a way to earn a quick buck or to get some other reward for their lies. He was found guilty.
For most of the book, it is hard to remain a captive because it is often repetitive and maintains a timeline that is not linear. As Mahmood’s past and present merge, there is often confusion with many events and characters introduced without any obvious purpose. Then the trial begins and the book takes flight. It is impossible to put it down, as the ideas previously presented, knit a now relevant story together. We see Mahmood come to terms with who he is and what he has done to bring him to the danger he is now facing.
As the reader begins to understand that the book is based on a true story, it becomes even more compelling. Mahmood is abused and/or used by the justice system and a racist society, as witnesses are brought in to provide evidence against him. The entire prosecution was based on circumstantial evidence, woven together from suppositions to make a plausible story. However, Mahmood’s reputation of being someone who kind of slipped through the cracks, and was known as “the shadow”, did not help his case.
Although British law was thought to be fair, it took more than four decades to actually reverse his conviction and correct the miscarriage of justice. The family was forced to suffer the indignity of racial and religious injustice as well as the corruption of the justice system. The incongruities of most justice systems is illustrated as the prisoner is kept healthy in order to be eventually executed. At 29, without ever losing hope or faith, he is hung, unfairly convicted of a crime he did not commit. It remains unsolved today.