The daily fight for a better life

This lengthy audiobook really makes you think about those desperate illegal 'runaways', exploited by loan sharks and escaping from the country of their birth to find a better life in England. That sounds like a polemical novel, but it's not that, it's a deeply compassionate, coruscating story of three young Indian men - Tochi, Randeep and Avtar - who are willing to suffer hideous hardship, intense loneliness and exploitation in order to work, work, work for a better life and support their families back 'home'.

These three men live in a squalid house in Sheffield with nine other Indian migrants, and the first part of the audiobook fills out their back stories in India. The details are filmic and vivid, and the characters burst out, helped by Sartaj Garewal's fluent narration and capture of accents. Tochi, an Untouchable in Bihar, finally manages to hire a rickshaw and scrapes a living as its driver to support his family after his father loses both arms in an accident. That is until atrocious massacres engulf his family and he is left with nothing. Randeep works nights in a bleak call centre and married troubled, British-born Narinder previously unknown to him in order to get into Britain. Avtar is told to 'follow the others' away from 'this benighted country' if he is to stand a chance of a better life - and sells one of his kidneys to help pay the loan sharks to finance his journey.

In England, their lives are grindingly harsh. They struggle to find work which will pay them a fraction of the minimum wage on hazardous construction sites, in factories and fast food outlets. They must earn enough to feed themselves - badly - and send money home to support their families and pay off the loan sharks. When Avtar is crippled with pain from complications following his kidney removal, he's too terrified to go to the doctor: discovery and police raids are a constant fear. But despite the undeniable misery of these men's lives, there is tremendous energy and vitality. It raises huge issues - made the more pertinent considering the vast numbers of refugees and migrants who have poured into Europe since this book was published in the summer - but never preaches or polemicizes. The message is in all the searing details.

Listen to it - your eyes will be opened and won't shut again.

49 people found this helpful

Deserving of its Booker nomination

Would you listen to The Year of the Runaways again? Why?

Yes. Epic stories are always worth a few more listens/reads. Plus, I listen while I travel, cook, garden or do housework and sometimes might miss the key aspect of a particular scene.

What did you like best about this story?

Everything. It is a believable story. I grew up in the Midlands in a city with a diverse Indian community. I had Indian friends at school and have worked with Indians of different castes and the Indian culture has always fascinated me. So much so that as a child I enjoyed watching Indian films and series (if subtitled).

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I am interested in the plight of Untouchables and so was interested in the experiences of Tochi.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

This novel is full of moving moments. It was educative and immersive. As one who listens to talk radio and is saturated with anti-immigrant talk, I was reminded that illegal immigrants are human and do not risk life and limb and dehumanisation to access benefits.

Any additional comments?

Since listening to the book, I read Sunjeev Sahota's interview in The Guardian (12th December 2015). What a wonderful and empathic human being. A son any mother would be proud of.

26 people found this helpful

Out of the shadows.

Very well written story about a part of our society we rather forget about. This book has given a voice to illegal immigrants living in the shadows. Highly recommended read.

25 people found this helpful

Realistic, philosophical and haunting

A tightly woven, intimate and accomplished portrayal of little known but significant lives, spanning continents.

12 people found this helpful

The Year of the Runaways - mixed feelings about this book

The Year of the Runaways - mixed feelings about this book
I enjoyed the beginning of book going through the characters stories, but then it got s bit jumbled up & seemed to have lost what was going on with the characters themselves, it became a bit unbelievable .
Good narration by Sartaj Garewal

11 people found this helpful

Indian migration to UK - community & adversity

Moving description of the challenges of Indian migration to the UK... it offers insights into people smuggling, the caste system and exploitation by unscrupulous employers and landlords. This novel, shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize, is powerful, beautifully written and compulsive reading.

Indian migrants, many illegal, seek opportunities in the UK, hoping to remit funds to their families back home. The challenges they face include poverty and racism, alongside dual loyalties to family, newfound friends, and marriages of convenience. Written and narrated with empathy, it is rich with vivid insights into culture, cuisine, and dress. The hardship and sacrifice are all too apparent; migrants working on a building site, restaurant kitchen, or drawn into petty (or not so petty) crime will not look the same again.

7 people found this helpful

Sorry - not for me

I really tried to engage with this. I’ve listened to about 7 hours. But I honestly have no idea what is going on, who is who, where my loyalties lie, or what the book is about. This is clearly one that is going to pass me by.

5 people found this helpful

A life in England most of us know little of

An eye opener into the world of the Indian immigrant in the UK. I thought the characters were well rounded and there was humour despite the bareness of their lives. I feel educated as well as entertained by this book and Sartaj Garwal's narration is brilliant - his ability with accents delineates the characters clearly.

5 people found this helpful

Enlightening

Enlightening story. Difficult to follow at times as constantly changing characters stories and going backward and forward in time.

4 people found this helpful

Brilliant

This book shines a light on areas of life I'd guess the average person won't have encountered. The writing is beautiful and tight, the characters empathetic and the subplots were breathtaking. The Booker Shortlist nomination is unsurprising. An absorbing book, which has caused me to reflect on many aspects of life.

2 people found this helpful