Gabriel Krauze is a writer from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, known for his

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...

nominated debut ''Who They Was,'' an autobiographical novel detailing his life of crime and involvement in the gang culture of

South Kilburn South Kilburn is a large housing estate in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent. Typical of brutalist 60's designs of public housing in the United Kingdom it is characterised by high-density housing in low-rise flats and 11 concrete tower blo ...

Early life

Krauze was born in London in 1990 to a Polish immigrant family. He spent his adolescence living in the notorious

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 , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

Career

Krauze initially wrote several short stories for

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

, starting with his first, ''The Rape of Dina'', in 2015. 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, with one of the Booker Prize judges, author and poet

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

stating, "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 and ultraviolence. Krauze has been described by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

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

grillz "Grillz" is a song by American rapper Nelly featuring fellow American rappers Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp, and uncredited vocals from American singer Brandi Williams (of the group Blaque). The song was written by Nelly, Jermaine Dupri, Paul Wall, A ...

. ''Who They Was'' was listed in ''Time'' magazine'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, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel '' Trainspotting'' was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short fil ...

References

Living people 1990 births Writers from London British writers British people of Polish descent {{improve categories, date=December 2022