Djamel White: Is he the next great Irish writer?
Djamel White is the youngest writer on the Booker longlist and also the only Irish representative. Picture: Conor Horgan
Djamel White could be forgiven for being distracted but he is ready and focused for our early morning chat, having already put in an hour or two at his desk, working on the follow-up to his debut novel,
Finding the time to devote to his second book has been somewhat tricky, but for the best of reasons. set in gangland Dublin, was by any standards a successful debut, selling well and getting good reviews. Then came the game-changing news that the book had been long-listed for the prestigious Booker prize.
“I had decided it was time to move on, and I was trying to focus on the next book, and put it out of my mind,” says White. “It had found whatever audience it might have found, it was past the opportunity of having this kind of breakout moment. I was at peace with that, and then the announcement came.”
At the centre of is the vividly drawn character of Tony Ward, who is back in Dublin trying to regain a foothold in the criminal underworld after being on the run. On his return, he is paired with the enforcer ‘Flute’ Walsh, a relationship that becomes intense in more ways than one.
At 28, White is the youngest writer on the Booker longlist and also the only Irish representative. The book has already benefited from a ‘Booker bounce’ with an increase in sales. White is delighted that it has brought a whole new audience of readers to the novel and he is also conscious of not taking it all for granted.
“I keep thinking about what it looks like from the outside because on the inside, you can get caught up in it. You move the goalposts all the time. Once you're published, it's about how's it going to perform, whereas before, you were dreaming about ever getting published in the first place.
"Then you’re on the longlist, and you start thinking about the shortlist. I am reminding myself that this was unprecedented a few weeks ago.”
White now lives with his girlfriend in Dublin. He spent his early years in Cavan with his mother and stepfather; when they separated he moved with his mother to the Dublin suburb of Lucan where they lived with his grandparents.
He struggled in mainstream education but following an early school leaving course, he went on a work placement with Fighting Words, the programme set up by Roddy Doyle and Seán Love which provides free mentoring in creative writing to young people from all backgrounds. It was a life-changing experience.
“It was the first time I knew that there was a place for me in the world. I was developing relationships with people who I otherwise wouldn't have had an opportunity to meet. I felt it was exactly where I needed to be, and I think that's a really rare thing to feel at 18.”
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White went on to do a degree in English and a masters in creative writing at UCD, where he also lectures occasionally, but he is still available when Fighting Words needs him. “I'm always happy to give back to the people that are in my position,” he says.
In White displays an impressive command of the gangland lingo and lifestyle but it is not a world into which he claims to have any great insight.
“I didn't really feel like I had to do much research. I just knew about things like this, and I think a lot of people do — that's the reality of Ireland and of certain parts of Dublin. If you don't see it, you hear about it.
"I wasn't overly concerned with the mechanisms of the gangland world. I wasn't trying to portray this super-realistic operation — you could get really caught up in trying to figure out how these guys don't get arrested every time they turn a corner. So it was more the emotional story and the relationships between the characters that I was concerned about, gangland was the backdrop.”
Those emotions come to the surface in the sexually charged relationship between Tony and Flute. White says one description of the book as “Irish Fiction’s Gangland Answer to Heated Rivalry” was obviously tongue-in-cheek but he was relatively at ease writing a gay storyline.
“There was a trickle of concern that if I write this kind of story, are people going to interrogate me and my lifestyle and my preferences? But that hasn't been the case. The reaction from queer readers has been really positive. They're really happy to see it depicted in this way, where it's not the central focus of the story. It is just an element of this character that gives more to him.”
There is a cinematic quality to its sense of place and claustrophobic realism reminiscent of iconic shows such as or White says a screen adaptation is in development but he is not interested in adapting the book himself.
“It has the potential to be something really exciting. A lot of things have to come together but I'm hopeful. I'm very interested in writing for the screen but I would like to work on somebody else's show and learn it that way before I get my heart smashed with a hammer trying to do my own project,” he says.
In the meantime, White is navigating the diversions and distractions of the Booker announcement. Understandably, he’s trying not to become preoccupied with any shortlist what-ifs, staying focused on his second book.
“I know people are going to be interested in taking a look at it, which is reassuring. It might take a little bit longer, now that the expectations have been raised for a follow-up. So there might be a bit more pressure, but that’s probably good, it will push me to do more.”
- The Booker Prize shortlist will be announced on Tuesday, September 22. is out now
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