"The Green Indian Problem" by Jade Leaf Willetts

A seven-year-old boy has a problem: his body is that of a girl.

Jade, who calls himself 'Green' hates being treated like a girl. He is given dolls and made to have long hair and wear a skirt. He lives with his mother and half-sister and the dreadful Dennis who physically abuses Green's mum. He sometimes sees his unemployed Dad and two half-brothers and his religious Nan and ex-Army opera-loving Grandad, who is the only one who accepts him.

It is narrated in first-person diary-form by Green. The style uses short direct sentences which seem to be de rigueur for novels with child narrators. Concepts which might seem precocious given the age of the narrator are explained by recourse to a teacher or a dictionary, as in "Embarrassed is when you're sad and want to hide about something. Mrs R taught us that." (1989: Green)

Most of the first half of the book is spent on developing the characters and the situation. The main characters - Green and his mum - are complex, three-dimensional and hugely believable and the minor characters are also well-drawn and realistic. The setting confers, in huge dollops, further verisimilitude to the extent that I assumed (partly because the author's first name is that of the narrator) that I was reading meta-fiction.

This might also explain the plot. Nothing much happens in the first half of the book but the second half, particularly the fourth quarter, is packed with incident. This would be lopsided in novel but it can be inevitable in a fictionalised memoir. Unfortunately, it meant that the exciting events of the last few pages felt less plausible.

Selected quotes:

• "When grown-ups say they will think about something, it just means they are saying no, but they can't be bothered to talk about it.” (1989: Les Sealey)
• “Vampires have much better hair than zombies or ghosts. It's just the rules.” (1989: Hallowe’en)
• “I like playing football, because it makes my brain go nice and quiet. When I am playing football, my brain doesn't care about anything apart from getting the ball into the goal.” ((1989: Letter)
• “Having a vagina when you're a boy is worse than your mum and dad splitting up.” (1989: The Human Body)
• “It must be weird being old. Nan said it is exactly the same as being young, except with worse teeth and hair.” (1990: Old)
• “Grandad said life goes fast, so it is important not to waste it. I think that's why he hates it when people gossip, because it is a terrible waste of time.” (1990: Old)
• “It felt the way it looks when somebody scribbles over red with blue on a picture.” (1990: Fish and Chips)
• “She was staring out of the window in the kitchen and doing zero-noise crying.” (1990: Funeral)

An important story, sensitively told.

November 2024

Published by Renard Press in 2022

This review was written by the author of Bally and Bro, Motherdarling  and The Kids of God