We Go Around in the Night and Are Consumed by Fire

by Jules Grant

This stunning literary debut, voiced by lesbian gangster Donna and her streetwise god-daughter Aurora, is steeped in the gang and gun culture of Manchester’s criminal underworld. It is both an unforgettable love story and an unputdownable revenge thriller.

Donna and Carla run the all-female Bronte Close Gang, carving out their own empire in the toughest streets of Manchester. But when Carla is gunned down for seducing the wife of a local gangster, it is left to Donna to keep the gang together, take care of Carla’s ten-year-old daughter, Aurora, and seek retribution for her murder.

A tale of friendship, survival and finding out how far you’d go to avenge and protect those you love, We Go Around In The Night And Are Consumed By Fire is a thrillingly original crime novel that unfolds at breakneck speed – at once furious, tender and heartbreaking.

Genres: Fiction, LGBT, Crime, Novels, Lesbian, Queer

352 pages, Paperback

Published April 8, 2016

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took some bullet point notes for this review while stuck in a tiresome meeting earlier today; one advantage of video meetings is that when some guy gets into a monologue you can do tasks. I came across 'We Go Around in the Night and Are Consumed by Fire' in a friend's bookshelf photos, sent to me so I could use them as a Library of Friendship. The title attracted my eye, I looked it up and learned it was about lesbian gangsters, and my friend sent it to me with several others. It is set on the mean streets of Manchester around 2008. First person narration duties are split between Donna, leader of the Bronte gang, and Aurora, the young daughter of Donna's closest friend and second-in-command Carla. Both of their lives unravel after Carla is shot. The writing is vivid and the two narrative voices are strong. Donna's wit and cynical insight contrast very effectively with Aurora's youthful uncertainties. I appreciated the balance between depicting depressing details of urban poverty (mostly via Aurora) and exciting crime machinations (via Donna).

The normal activities of the Bronte gang are incidental to the plot, which is largely concerned with the conflict resulting from Carla's shooting. Nonetheless I liked the detail of them selling liquid ecstasy in the toilets of nightclubs, disguised in a perfume bottle, £5 for a squirt on the tongue. Also notable is the legitimate cover business, a cleaning service, which Donna keeps a separate set of books for. Indeed, Donna has a refreshingly sensible attitude to organised crime, although she is also quick to fight whenever she considers it necessary. It made a lovely change to read a crime novel in which all the main characters were women, the majority lesbians. The solidarity and mutual support between women is excellent and key to the plot. Friendship, family, and romantic love are all shown beautifully, without a focus on romance. This is not a light read, though, as events are often brutal. It's definitely upsetting to watch Aurora, a child of ten, blame herself for bad things happening to her. Nonetheless, the tone isn't excessively grim. Smart choices and solidarity enable escape from immediate disaster, while the poverty trap remains. The violent scenes are thrilling and fit neatly within the plot rather than dominating it. I found the whole book involving and original, well suited to a movie adaptation directed by some female equivalent of Guy Ritchie. How I would love to watch a crime caper with Ritchie-esque visual panache but featuring lesbians rather than his signature misogyny.

[Clair Atkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another bookclub choice, this books tell the story of lesbian gangster Donna and her gang on the tough streets of Manchester. Voiced by Donna & her god-daughter Aurora, the book is shocking, tense and moves so quickly I struggled to put it down. It's unusual in that it has no speech marks, which takes a little getting used to & I'd be interested to know why the author chose to write it like that.

[Gretel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really like the cover and the title, but this is little more than a novelised version of a cheesy gangster flick with a majority female cast. The lack of speech marks made it pretty difficult to read, and I kept forgetting who was saying what. Also this book is packed full of anecdotes about characters we never meet or only meet for a small period of time - what is the point?

[Ieva Valentinavičiūtė · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot and would have given it 4 stars, but sometomes I didn't enjoy the writing style, especially the absence of speech marks. This made it confusing at times to distinguish between speech and narration.

The story revolves around a lesbian drug dealer gang in Manchester, depicting a lot of violence and criminality. However, it's heartwarming to see how the women support each other, particularly in times of grief. The narrative is told through the perspective of one of the gang members, Donnas, and her 10-year-old goddaughter, Auroras eyes.

The characters are very raw, interesting and unique.Donna, shaped by a tough childhood and the loss of her parents to prison and drugs, offers insight into the motivations behind their actions.I especially liked Aurora's chapters because it's clear that even though she considers herself street smart, her thoughts and actions show that she's just a kid.

[Jackie Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

We Go Around In The Night And Are Consumed By Fire, by Jules Grant, tells the story of an all female gang of drug dealers in Manchester. In getting to know these women the reader gains an understanding of their lives and why they live as they do. To those of us born into privilege, by which I mean a life that offers the possibility of shelter, sustenance and safety within the law, this is a rare opportunity to gain some empathy for those who are often regarded as the dregs of society.

Donna has had a tough upbringing. She lost her mother to drugs and her father to prison, suffering a short period in care before escaping to the streets to fend for herself. She now leads the Bronte Close Gang alongside her second in command, Carla. Donna is god-mother to Carla’s ten year old daughter, Aurora, a child who considers herself streetwise and who her mother is trying to protect.

Both Donna and Carla are gay. They prefer the members of their gang to be likewise inclined as it removes the danger and complications of interference from the men they must deal with on the streets, who treat their women as property.

Donna has built up a business dealing drugs in the city’s clubs, successfully hiding her nefarious income by laundering it through a cleaning company. The Brontes have a quid pro quo relationship with the all male gangs who work the surrounding turf. When Carla falls for one of the gang member’s woman, just as a police operation takes out the top tier of the major players in their scene, she endangers her associate’s lives. Donna realises that she no longer knows who amongst the men she can trust to assist.

The Brontes are not the only all female gang. When Carla is shot the women agree to combine resources and set up a sting operation to flush out the men they believe are to blame. Complications arise when Aurora goes AWOL. Donna believes that the greatest danger to the girl is if she falls into the hands of Social Services, having suffered this fate herself.

The author succeeds in showing how law abiding citizens look to these women. They despise the southern students who pass through Manchester to attend the university. They cannot comprehend what most would consider normal, family life as this is beyond anything they have experienced. These women fight to survive, accepting the danger as necessary if they are to live autonomously.

The story is raw and unflinching in its depiction of life in the underbelly. By telling the story from Donna and Aurora’s points of view they are presented as humane in their skewed world where choice is limited to fight or go down. Their hardness is a veneer, carefully cultivated to enable them to survive.

The story demands sympathy for those who most would deride. Such people would mock this sympathy and the lack of understanding obvious in any solutions proposed. This alone makes the book challenging to read because their are no easy answers to a situation generations in the making.

A fast moving thriller that lays bare a way of life that will continue to exist unless a cure can be found for the underlying causes. It is depressingly clear that within a society which prefers to punish, this is unlikely to occur.

My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Myriad Editions.

[Tracey Scott-Townsend · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a completely different perspective on a life of crime, from the inside-out instead of from the outside-in. What makes it even more unique is the female cast of characters, tough, brutal, hard-nosed but also loving and caring within their own network. Donna is inimitable and completely authentic. Aurora makes your heart break. Carla - its like you always knew she was going to get into trouble. I wish... I just wish life could have been better for all of them and that they hadn't been driven into such a dangerous life in which they get hurt and in turn hurt others. Their skewed and twisted means of survival. A breathtaking read.

[Nartan Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg this writing is so powerful. To be honest, I'm not sure how to describe it. Really brutal material (it's a crime thriller). It's narrated by a tough Mancunian gang member, dragging you through stomach-churning psychology and situations. I never read crime books. I was drawn to it (no pun intended) by its fantastic title, and the fact that it's published by possibly my new favourite publisher, Myriad Editions. Then once I started reading, it's so compelling, I could hardly put it down. Brilliant.

[Laura Wilkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the reasons I love this novel is because it vividly portrays a world I hitherto knew little about: the female criminal gangs of contemporary Manchester. The voices of gang leader, Donna, and her lover’s daughter Ror, are raw and, surprisingly, poetic. It is violent yet tender, often hilarious (a scene when Ror asks to see Father Tom had me crying with laughter) and never judgemental. Stunning.

[Maria]

Just won the giveaway and will be posting a review very soon! I am exceptionally excited to read this book!

[Lance · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I recon when someone dies there this whole other world going on right alongside, we just can't see it unless they want us to. I know she'll come to me when she's ready, when she feels like it; and that's the way it's always been."

This was a really spectacular debut novel. The prose was beautiful, dialogue without the quotation marks as in Jose Saramago, a fascinating mingling of slang from the 1970s to the present day, "homies" next to "mint" next to "wideboy", classical references to Sappho and Artemis sprinkled in, made for a really original read that put the poetry back into the street without pretention. "all I can see is bastard concrete and a trillion zillion stars." There were some really beautiful phrases, and I am very excited to see what Grant writes next.
"It was her eyes that got me first, warm treacle toffee all shot through with gold in the lights. Like that stone Dad brought me back from a trip. Tiger's Eye, he said. Have you ever seen anything more beautiful? And until the day I met Carla, I hadn't."
The novel follows the story of Donna, a young lesbian Mancunian gang member, during the turmoil that follows the top-tier of the gang being arrested. Donna is hard, lives as if she is immortal, as if she has infinite time to be with Carla, the woman she has known since being a child in care, but has never told she loves her. But she never has that chance. Taking advantage of the chaos, a jealous gang member walks into enemy territory and shoots Carla dead for seducing his brave and fragile wife, Kim. "It's only when she sits down next to me, looks me in the face, that I can put a name to it, the thing in her eyes that makes me want to get cruel. It's like looking in a mirror. Everything I lost looking right back at me." Donna's love is consumed by rage, and she calls on the unity of the gay scene, much stronger than the fickle alliances amongst the straight male criminal community to seal her revenge. "Just killed three dickheads, I need a sim card."
I have a really different perspective on the gay scene in the north of England now, a culture which is so rarely depicted at all in literature. I was fascinated to see the huge overlap between the lesbian scene and the criminal underworld, where woman feel a strong sense of needing to defend themselves, owners of lesbian bars and clubs need another source of income, and smart dykes sell liquid ecstasy in perfume atomisers in club bathrooms. It was a very different world to the bland hipster subculture of the south of England LGBT+ scene. There were also some subtle and well-made points on discrimination. "Always thinking we'll fancy them, just because we're dykes and they happen to be female, no matter what. If we shagged around half as much as they think we do, we'd be withered to nowt." I particularly enjoyed how Donna's attitudes clashed with those of educated multicultural English-Pakistani Kaheesha.
Alongside Donna's narrative, there are chapters from the perspective of Carla's daughter Aurora who has been entrusted to Donna after her mother's death. "Dear Baby Jesus, I am sorry for wishing the babba got took to a shed. Please let me go home. Aurora Grace." Aurora is a deeply sad and hauntingly realistic portrayal of a streetwise child who does drug-runs to make money for groceries for her alcoholic grandmother and truants from school, and yet remains tragically innocent and trusting. Aurora is kidnapped by a rival gang, escaping only to be taken into Care, recreating her mother's childhood, and finding that crime is the only way to escape the social services she fears so deeply. It is an interesting partial-success. Donna neglects her god-daughter in order to thoroughly decimate Carla's killers. Is that a victory? "Some people can life a whole lifetime and never really love. It's a gift. Don't let it turn to hate."

[Other Terrain · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Knock people’s places down, just makes them cling on harder. Then you got people clinging on to dreams, and you can’t ever fight that. […] Cut something back just makes it grow thicker and faster, Carla says, but I guess no one ever told the police that.”

We Go Around in the Night and are Consumed by Fire is British author Jules Grant’s first novel. Set in modern times in Manchester, England, Grant’s first offering of urban fiction grittily portrays the lives of the central character, Donna, and her ten-year-old god-daughter, Aurora. Both are caught up in or affected by organised crime, gang violence and poverty in a not very nice part of town.

After I began reading the book, I very quickly noticed unusual things about this fast-paced and absorbing narrative. The book is written in present tense, which is a clever tactic by which Grant immediately immerses the reader into the story, its action and setting. The story switches between Donna and Aurora’s narration. They have distinct but incredibly authentic and likeable… even lovable… voices.

From the onset, I noticed words we don’t use in Australia. What the heck is a ginnel? Turns out it’s an alleyway. At first the new words and colloquialisms were disconcerting, along with the complete absence of any quotation marks throughout the entire story. But I persevered, and soon became accustomed to the style and voice of the novel, and the fantastic pace afforded by such writing methods.

In the spirit of urban fiction, Grant presents the reader with many confronting issues. In the same spirit, Grant unapologetically bombards the reader with the introduction of several characters throughout the book. Fortunately, the number of characters is not too overwhelming, and they are necessary to present the book’s many uncomfortable themes and images.

If urban fiction is meant to be gritty… gritty is what you get. We Go Around in the Night and are Consumed by Fire deals with grit such as torture, murder and violence, as well as the heartbreaking effects of poverty on children and families. Despite her gang associations and life in organised crime, Donna, a lesbian in her late twenties is smart, likeable, real and extremely loyal. When the story’s narration shifts to ten-year-old Aurora, the incredible authenticity of the little girl’s voice both delights and heartbreakingly dismays.

The book is peppered with flashbacks, which propel the story rather than hinder it, and add to its incredible momentum. Beautiful and relatable descriptions also feature throughout the story. A particularly moving one: “Me, I like the way it makes me feel when I sit here. Gives me a wide-open feeling, like there’s no doubt about it, there’s something beyond. I get the same thing at the airport, and Piccadilly station. Things moving, people going somewhere. Things rolling forward somehow. You can’t beat it.” How authentic and effective this snippet makes you feel, like you’ve lived it… like you’ve been there!

This review by Angela Wauchop has featured in the Swinburne Journal ‘Other Terrain’, Issue 5.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book reads like it was written about lesbian gangsters in Manchester by someone who is neither a Lesbian, a Gangster or indeed from Manchester (I'm sure this is not completely true) such was the perceived lack of understanding of all main elements.
The references to the locations were incessant and at times felt forced and out of place, constant metaphors using areas or elements of the north west which just felt unnatural ('..as much chance of holding back the Mersey with a bucket').
The story itself, stripped of all of the sexual preference and gender differences for a moment, was in truth pretty weak; not much happened, and when it did, it didn't really make sense as to why. Much better stories about crime syndicates and gangster families exist. Elements were simply confusing: why a seemingly well to do woman would believe it is in a child's best interest to help a gang remove said child from social care and put her back into the hands of a gang who were the direct cause of her mothers death, her kidnapping, and her attempted murder by fire is almost as ludicrous as being able to escape from a court room by climbing into the ceiling of a toilet.

The narrative had genuine moments of poetry but sadly much more of the prose was almost painful to read with out giggling at its naivety.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know if "enjoyable" is the right word for a book with such dark themes, but it was certainly engaging, there was an energy about both Donna and Aurora that made you root for them both throughout.
I felt the book did a good job in setting up the characters backgrounds, and how they have adapted behaviour that general society would deem antisocial or dangerous as a means of surviving in a society that breaks them down even as it claims to care for them. There is a degree of blurring the lines between organised crime and vigilante behaviour.
The in-the-moment, bordering on stream-of-consciousness writing style could be distracting at times, particularly the lack of quotation marks, but I think it goes a long way to mirroring how the narrators have come to view the world and other people.
I found the problem with spending so much time on the perspectives of two people, both focusing on their love for Carla, means that the other characters could lack depth, Donna's various paramours/lackeys seemed to all blend into one, but then again, this *is* a gangster novel, so maybe this was intended?

[Snoakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an impressive debut by Jules Grant. Raw, gritty and dark, it's a crime thriller about Manchester's seedy underbelly. Donna and Carla run an all-woman gang, dealing drugs in the local clubs. The story unfurls from Donna's point of view with occasional chapters voiced by her goddaughter Aurora. It's a real page turner, but it's so much more than that. Yes, it has violence, criminality and a fast-paced plot, but it also has heart, emotion and a good wallop of wit and humour.

[Bel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's nice when book club brings me to something I would never have read otherwise. This novel follows a female gang leader in Manchester: I've never been there but it seems to create a great sense of place, and I liked the use of dialect words. The author also turns lots of great phrases: she's particularly good at describing eyes. The fact that the gang is made up entirely of lesbians is incidental, which is refreshing. Worth a read.

[Hannah Thornley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldn’t get my teeth into this. Although it’s different to anything I’ve read before - it’s all about a brutal gang made up of lezzas - I quickly grew tired of the violence and cliché, gritty Mancunian narrative.

Redeeming factors: it’s dead gay and there are beautiful moments of fiercely loyal, female friendship / family ties throughout

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely fantastic. Rough, funny, morally challenging, and a true sapphic working class story. A thriller that wasn’t predictable at all and at the same time more than a thriller. Very smart gendered actions/things to cover/enable crimes and actions in the book. I loved every single page of it (and I read it twice). Hope to read more by the author.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

i fell in love with donna throughout this and absolutely nobody could make me feel differently. i had to remind myself ror is only 10 at one point and jaw DROP. i luv being a lesbian, that last line got me out of my feels so fast. id take a sequel tbh. (this could’ve absolutely been a 5* read i am just a gal who NEEDS quotation marks)

[Debs · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean, it was a bit shite but it had some really good observations about life in care and what it feels like to try and take on an organisation like Social Services. So yeah, it had that going for it at least.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth reading, interesting crime books about a lesbian criminal gang in Manchester, I enjoyed the way they supported each other and the characters are believable.

[Charlotte Hayes · Rating 1 out of 5]

The absence of punctuation just made this unreadable for me. I really wanted to like it but just not my cup of tea.

[Michelle Best · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book about lesbian gangsters. I’ve seen some reviews criticizing the lack of punctuation. Personally I think this is a way of highlighting the characters voices. Very Mancunian very dark & ultimately about the things people will do for ‘family’

[tayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

i randomly picked this up in a book store and saw LESBIAN GANG in the blurb????? uh HELLO?????/ masterpiece.

[Sølvi Goard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sure it was a bit daft but I really enjoyed it. I didn't find the style discordant, it fit for me.

[Amelia.jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe this book isn't famous... it made me feel so many things and the VOICES are *chefs kiss* I will indeed be talking about this forever

[Thesincouch]

Feb 2024, 5pp: A very it's me, not you - this is a book about lesbians gangsters and the writing is very punchy... and I'm not into it.

[Ayms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly make this book a movie

[Sage Kaduskina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with an idea I've never seen before. Loved learning Yorkshire slang. Wish they'd focussed more on Aurora.

[Autumn Hoang · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Charlie Blackburn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took some getting use to the language and way of writing, sometimes didn't have a clue what was happening but that could just be me. But overall I liked it.