Ferdinand is an elegant writer, both in fiction and non fiction, who deftly weaves the tales of the diaspora into his work. He has been doing this from a time when terms like "institutional racism" were rarely uttered let alone understood and British was assumed to be synonymous with white. It is the endurance of writers of that generation, who persisted with great literary skill and, often with insufficient recognition or support, who made it possible for others to come after them even as they built on the legacy of those who came beforeFerdinand is an elegant writer, both in fiction and non-fiction, who deftly weaves the tales of the diaspora into his work. He has been doing this from a time when terms like ‘institutional racism’ were rarely uttered, let alone understood, and ‘British’ was assumed to be synonymous with ‘white’. It is the endurance of writers of that generation, who persisted with great literary skill and often with insufficient recognition or support, which made it possible for others to come after them, even as they built on the legacy of those who came before.