This intensely humane second novel, focused on a city’s ‘invisibles’, amplifies the questions Covid-19 has brought into sharp focus
In October, homelessness charities reported a sharp increase in the number of young people sleeping rough in London. Although written before the pandemic, Should We Fall Behind, Sharon Duggal’s measured, intensely humane second novel about the “invisible” among us, amplifies the questions Covid-19 has brought into sharp focus – about the meaning of community, and what constitutes a home.
In an unnamed city “down south”, Jimmy Noone, a northerner in his early 20s who has fled a difficult family situation, warily navigates the streets. When he encounters the younger, more vulnerable Betwa, his brotherly instinct to protect her overrides a growing attraction, but then Betwa disappears. Jimmy’s search for her leads him to the area where she grew up, home to a large immigrant community. Duggal eases into the lives lived in this locality with compassion and wisdom, allowing generous room to several narrators and their intergenerational stories of love and loss.