Bite: Dominoes and Other Stories - Tapa blanda

Rai has a sharp eye for contemporary living. (The Guardian)

Each of these finely crafted tales form a sequence of linking narratives from an array of vibrant, fresh teenage voices who tell us what it is like to be living their life, as an urban Asian, West Indian, or white teenager in Britain today. From the gritty raw narrator of title story, Dominoes, who describes the constant tit for tat, gang warfare mentality of both his family and his friends, to the comi-tragic reminescence of Johnny Too Lie, and the realism of mixed race relationships in Bhangra Girls and Bhangra Boys - and many more besides. This is a unique collection in that each of the narrators are known, in some way to each other - but from their racial standpoints, their angle on their stories often presents a whole different perspective of the same event. Funny, lighthearted at times, darker at others, this collection truly reflects the society we live in todayand gives true and authentic voice to contemporary adolescents from all cultures growing up in urban Britain.