Metro, June 2022
Every so often a young writer appears out of nowhere to recast the literary landscape. Leila Mottley is surely that novelist, a 20 year-old American who started her tale of injustice and exploitation at just 17. The same age as her force of nature protagonist Kiara, battling her way through the mean, racist, streets of Oakland, California.
We meet her as the rent is increased for the apartment she shares – and can’t afford – with her wannabe rapper brother. Jobs are scarce, parents absent and times so tough, she crashes funeral wakes for a meal.
Kiara turns to street work, but Mottley blesses her with a wisdom and resilience beyond her years. Anchoring Nightcrawling on a real story about the exploitation of a young woman by members of the Oakland Police Department lends added gravitas, too, on the occasions some of the characterisations stumble.
Compelling and surprisingly moving, Nightcrawling is a lesson in fresh, distinctive writing.
