gooseman
'If there is a date when my story begins, it is 13 September 1981. That day was not only my first day at school; it was the first time that I realised I was not like the others.’ So begins Gooseman, M. G. Sanchez’s new darkly comic novel. Its protagonist is Johann Guzman, a cynical but quick-witted young Gibraltarian loner. Shunned by his schoolmates and bullied by his thuggish father, Guzman dreams about leaving the small-town atmosphere of his native Gibraltar to carve out the life of normality and tranquillity that he knows is buried somewhere inside him. But when he finally overcomes his demons and cuts the umbilical cord tying him to the British Overseas Territory, things don't quite go according to plan....
'Thrillingly transgressive.’
Esterino Adami, Lecture in English Language and Translation Studies, University of Turin.
‘M. G. Sanchez further cements his reputation as Gibraltar’s most daring novelist, taking us on a white-knuckle ride through a world full of booze, drugs, sex, racism, mental illness and the corrosive effects of toxic masculinity. GOOSEMAN presents a picture of the life of a Gibraltarian, both in Gibraltar and abroad in the UK, that is so raw and unfiltered it’s impossible to ignore.’
Giordano Durante, Gibraltarian poet.
'Working in a variety of genres, including the historical novel, detective fiction, and the ghost story, among various others, M. G. Sanchez has created a world-class body of prose that can convey to readers everywhere the astonishing hybridity and complexity of past and present Gibraltarian society.'
David Alvarez, Professor of English, Grand Valley State University, USA.