Free Society

(Canada) November 2007

'A Rebel Life' is the true story of a murder, presented in novel format, narrated by someone close to the victim, his own brother. In the course of telling the story of his brother's death and presenting his argument for foul play, Peter is also telling his own story, as well as presenting a damning indictment of the social form.

Peter's story begins with his upbringing in a working class Greek family in Brooklyn, NY, USA, and chronologically traces his development into a rebellious teenager. In 1985, at fifteen, Peter leaves home for life on the streets of New York, sleeping in squats (abandoned buildings) on NY's Lower East Side. Shortly after, his younger brother Archie leaves home to join him. Peter illustrates defining moments in his life, which led him to move from the LES to Long Island where his parents moved, but the trouble doesn't end there. Peter and Archie are determined to continue living hard even though they are out of the fire of the LES, starting a gang called Strong Island Boys and becoming engaged in conflict with rival youth gangs in Long Island. There are several more defining events that finally lead Peter to make a concrete decision that leads him out of drugs, gangs and violence and into university. At the same time, Archie has continued to live a life of chaos, and when he dies, Peter cannot shake the suspicion that he died from drugs. 

In terms of the literary style of 'A Rebel Life', there are a number of interesting characteristics. The first is the confessional style of the writing, making the reader open to the narrator's inner thoughts. This, combined with narrative structure really supports the presentation as "words of a man's psychotic break". The narrative structure, starting three days prior to the funeral, documents Peter's reaction to his brother's death, using flashbacks chronologically to tell his story that brought him to his current perspective. Peter also uses dreams to help illustrate his perspective, and to reveal some of his innermost thoughts on Archie's death. Accompanying each chapter is a quote from revolutionaries, writers, philosophers, etc… that relates to the content of the chapter. There is also a reading list provided at the end of the book, which is a great idea to direct readers to further reading from top quality sources.

The most important aspect of 'A Rebel Life' is the communication of an analysis of the social form. Kalafatis places the struggles of him and Archie within a much larger scope: the omnipresent class struggle between the toiling class, and the class that survives by the toil of others. "We are born into this unfair system with realistically limited choices and the illusion of unlimited possibilities. In the end, the great lie is we are how we are because of our choosing and the great truth in this unfair system is that the more money means the more choices". Peter demonstrates this successfully through the course of the novel, and in doing so successfully argues his case for foul play in the death of Archie. The novel also touches on issues of identity, gender, conformity and authority. The cover of the edition that I received also perfectly illustrates the state of the working class… The picture depicts a soldier thrusting his bayonet into the stomach of a worker. Robert Minor originally created this illustration in 1916 as propaganda against the First World War. The illustration came near the end of a time when there was much greater international solidarity amongst the working class. This was a time when sectors of the working class could still see clearly how going to fight a war for the interests of the rich was akin to killing brothers and sisters. This is an effective depiction of the dealing and use of drugs, as well as the violence, between members of the working class.

'A Rebel Life' is an excellently crafted novel that tells a compelling story, but more importantly throws a spotlight on the disgusting and inherent inequalities of the capitalist system, demands class-consciousness, and strongly argues that until equality has been achieved, "there can be no war but the class war".

- Free Society (Canada)