The Black Flamingo

The Black Flamingo tells the story of Michael as he grows up and tries to make sense of how his race and sexuality affect his place in the world.

The son of a loving Greek Cypriot mother, an almost entirely absent Jamaican father, born in England, gay and taking his first steps into the wider world, much of the story focuses on Michael's struggle to figure out where and how he fits in the various circles of his life.

We follow Michael from a young boy yearning to play with Barbies, to an awkward teen figuring out whether to act on his crushes, through to his glorious ascent into adulthood and acceptance of who he really is.

I was lucky enough to see Dean Atta perform many years ago, when he was receiving lots of positive attention for his poetry collection 'I am Nobody's N*****' (the choice to asterisk this work is mine, not his), so I knew to expect something special. Yet I was still not prepared for how I felt when I closed that final page.

This novel is a tour de force. Written in verse and aimed at young adults, it is an easy and quick read. It builds slowly but thoughtfully through Michael's early years, portraying with heart his wonderful relationship with his mum and his at times difficult but important friendship with Daisy.

However, it is in the final chapters that this novel really packs a punch. Having finally found his people at University, Michael is free to truly become himself and does so in a way so glorious it takes your breath away. Punctuated with powerful poems and beautiful first person narration, the moment Michael reveals The Black Flamingo to the world felt so real I could picture every detail.

This is a compelling and inspiring novel. It will inevitably speak most clearly to young people trying to make sense of their race, gender and sexual identities; how grateful we should be to live in a time where something like this is so readily available. But it's audience should certainly be much broader than that: Atta's messages of kindness, acceptance and finding your true self could teach us all an important lesson.