Scarborough

Description:

CANADA READS RUNNER-UP, 2022 NOW A MOTION PICTURE directed by Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson; screenplay by Catherine Hernandez Trillium Book Award and City of Toronto Book Award finalist; Edmund White Debut Fiction Award finalist; A Globe 100, National Post and Quill and Quire Best Book of the Year Scarborough is a low-income, culturally diverse neighbourhood east of Toronto, the fourth largest city in North America; like many inner-city communities, it suffers under the weight of poverty, drugs, crime, and urban blight. Scarborough the novel employs a multitude of voices to tell the story of a tight-knit neighbourhood under fire: among them, Victor, a black artist harassed by the police; Winsum, a West Indian restaurant owner struggling to keep it together; and Hina, a Muslim school worker who witnesses first-hand the impact of poverty on education. And then there are the three kids who work to rise above a system that consistently fails them: Bing, a gay Filipino boy who lives under the shadow of his father's mental illness; Sylvie, Bing's best friend, a Native girl whose family struggles to find a permanent home to live in; and Laura, whose history of neglect by her mother is destined to repeat itself with her father. Scarborough offers a raw yet empathetic glimpse into a troubled community that locates its dignity in unexpected places: a neighbourhood that refuses to be undone.

subjects: Poverty,  Fiction,  Fiction, general,  Ontario, fiction,  Pauvreté,  Romans, nouvelles,  neighbourhoods,  Community life,  Multiculturalism,  Mental Health,  Canadian fiction,  Canadian literature,  Collection:Canada Reads,  Collection:Canada Reads 2022,  LGBTQ novels,  BIPoC,  Youth culture,  Asian literature,  collection:edmund_white_award=finalist

People: Victor,  Winsum,  Hina,  Bing,  Sylvie,  Laura

Places: Scarborough (Ont.),  Greater Toronto Area (Ont.),  Eastern Canada,  canada