'Ahmad's piercing storytelling cuts away at the lace and trimmings of race relations in Australia today. No one who reads The Lebs deserves to come out unscathed.' - The Saturday Paper Books shelved as amanda-s-novels: The Other Half of You by Michael Mohammed Ahmad, The Lebs by Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Friends & Dark Shapes by Kavita Be. 'The author never lets his superb command of idiom or his eye for the absurd overwhelm a deeply felt exploration of the hurt and damage that can come from encounters with the Australian Other. 'The Lebs is a strong and resonant novel that deserves to be widely read.' - Weekend Australian 'an open-eyed and highly charismatic novel broiling with fight, tenderness and ambition.' - Big Issue He is a romantic in a sea of hypermasculinity.īani must come to terms with his place in this hostile, hopeless world, while dreaming of so much more.

Though he's a Leb and they control the school, Bani feels at odds with the other students, who just don't seem to care. 34) Review of The Lebs Michael Mohammed Ahmad, 2018 single work novel Abstract Bani Adam wants to be a ‘chivalrous poet’ or a great writer. I hold their anticipation for three seconds, and then, while they're all ablaze, I say out loud, 'I do think I'm better.'Īs far as Bani Adam is concerned Punchbowl Boys is the arse end of the earth. The Lebs by Michael Mohammed Ahmad Jay Daniel Thompson, 2018 single work essay Appears in: Australian Book Review, March no.

They all go quiet and wait for me to explain myself, redeem myself, pull my shirt out, rejoin the pack. 'Bani Adam thinks he's better than us!' they say over and over until finally I shout back, 'Shut up, I have something to say!' Buy The Lebs: Miles Franklin Literary Award Finalist by Michael Mohammed Ahmad from Boffins Books in Perth, Australia. WINNER OF THE NSW PREMIERS LITERARY AWARDS MULTICULTURAL NSW AWARD 2019 Similarly, many of the other students in Mohammed Ahmad’s book are as poor as kebabs.

FINALIST FOR THE MILES FRANKLIN LITERARY AWARDS 2019 The Lebs: Miles Franklin Literary Award Finalist - Kindle edition by Ahmad, Michael Mohammed. The Lebs is a strong and resonant novel that deserves to be widely read. Michael Mohammed Ahmad’s novel The Lebs is a realistic portrayal of teenage boys in Western Sydney.