My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal.

                My name is Leon by Kit de Waal.

"A brother chosen. A brother left behind. And the only way home is to find him. And a family where you'd least expect it."

The story is set in the 1980s with the breakdown of a family set against the 1981 riots and the Royal Wedding of Diana and Charles. The protagonist is a young boy called Leon, coming up to nine. He is keenly observant of people around him and protective towards his mum, Carol Rycroft, 25, who suffers from extreme post-natal depression after the birth of her second son, Jake. Home is a London council flat near a dual carriageway. His father, Byron is in prison.

"I want you to always love each other. Look after him and look after yourself."

Leon is mixed race and Jake is white, blue-eyed and blonde, the exact opposite. For the first four months Leon tries to look after his sick mother and half-brother until the money runs out and the boys go hungry. Carol won't get out of bed and she wets it. Leon wants to make her better but Carol has to be taken to hospital. Leon is vulnerable and he tends to bottle things up and represses his anger and frustration so when he is placed in a foster home with Jake he struggles to cope. Heart-breaking. Maureen has fostered 22 children and takes on Leon and his brother. Usually difficult cases. Initially, Jake shares a bedroom with Leon who continues to care for him until Jake reaches 10 months and the dreaded news destroys Leon when he learns from one of the many social workers, Salma, that Jake is to be adopted but Leon is to remain with Maureen. The family don't want a black boy.


Maureen disapproved of the boys being split up and tells Salma her thoughts. She has to convince Leon that he will get through this. "You will be alright. You will see your brother again. He hasn't gone forever." Unfortunately, Maureen becomes ill and suffers a stroke and pneumonia so Leon goes to live with her sister, Sylvia until she recovers. It takes another 12 months before he is able to see his mother for a supervised visit. It is clear that she is unable to cope with Leon and offer him the necessary care that a growing boy needs. Leon resorts to petty crime, stealing money and goods that will be useful when he decides to run away to find his brother and mother. His sole aim in life. Leon carries very strong memories of his precious time with Jake, demonstrating the fierce bond between siblings even if it is one-sided. Sadly, Leon doesn't get to see his brother again.

He forms a friendship with two men at the local allotments, Tufty a West Indian who has been subjected to racist remarks throughout life and Devlin an Irish man who was a former IRA member. Tufty reminds Leon of his dad. These two men dislike each other intensely but they encourage Leon to grow seeds and nurture the plants. Leon learns about Irish Republican hunger strikes and police brutality against black people that sparked the 1981 riots. Leon is caught up in the brutality of this, saved by his oddball friends who are injured. The scene is very powerful, full of hatred and dangerous.

"We are the warriors you made. We have dignity and worth."(Ode to Castro who was killed in police custody.)

Maureen comes back into his life to provide him with stability and love, demonstrating human kindness to a damaged little boy. Carol remains sick, unable to care for Leon. This is Waal's first novel echoing her own experiences with a West Indian father and an Irish mother subjected to racial abuse like so many others. I was fortunate to meet her at the Lichfield literature festival in March 2017 and was moved by My Name is Leon.


Audio Penguin 2016. Read by Lenny Henry. Publishers: Viking. ISBN: 13. 978-024-1207-086. Penguin ISBN: 13- 978-024-197-3387.
REVIEW it by Carol Naylor.
COPYRIGHT 2017. Permission must be obtained from the author before any of this article review is reproduced in any form.


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