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Monster in the Middle by Tiphanie Yanique
A week or so before reading Monster in the Middle I read Tiphanie Yanique’s debut short story collection, Land of Love and Drowning, which I rather enjoyed. I remember being struck by Yanique ’s atmospheric storytelling, by her subtle use of irony, and by her thoughtful meditations on death, love, and everything in between. So,…
1980s, 1990s, 2 STARS, 2000s, 2010s, Adult, affairs, America, American, belonging, bi side characters, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Caribbean, caribbean author, cheating, Christianity, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, FAMILY SAGA, female authors, Ghana, illness, incest-y, interconnected stories, intergenerational, ISLAND, lgbtq+ side, MARRIAGE, mental health, Monster in the Middle, My reviews, NEW YORK, pandemic, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, Religion, Saint Thomas, Saint Thomas authors, schizophrenia, sex, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social issues, Tiphanie Yanique, travel, U.S. Virgin Islands authors -
Aftershocks: Dispatches from the Frontlines of Identity by Nadia Owusu
“To heal, I would need to look inward as well as outward. I would need to examine my memories. I would need to interrogate the stories I told myself—about myself, about my family, about the world.” Unflinching and elegant Aftershocks is an impressive, engrossing, and deeply moving memoir by a promising author. In her memoir,…
1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 20th century, ALIENATION, America, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, CHILDHOOD, cultural dissonance, dislocation, england, Ethiopia, family, fathers & daughters, female authors, Ghana, Ghanian Armenian American author, GRIEF, growing up, history, identity, illness, introspective, Italy, madness, MEMOIR, MEMORY, mental health, mothers & daughters, Nadia Owusu, NEW YORK, Nonfiction, published in 2021, RACE, read in 2021, Rome, sexual assault/abuse/rape, Tanzania, terrific prose, trauma, travel, Uganda -
Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor
“Fear of death is a powerful weapon.” Remote Control is Afrofuturism at its best. Nnedi Okorafor seamlessly blends folklore elements and aesthetics with sci-fi ones, delivering a unique and intriguing piece of speculative fiction. Set in Ghana, Remote Control opens in medias res: the appearance of Sankofa, a fourteen-year girl, and her companion, a fox,…
3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, afrofuturism, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, Black & Black heritage authors, Booklr, curses, DEATH, dystopia, FANTASY, female authors, FOLKLORE, futuristic, Ghana, KIDS WITH POWERS, myths, nigerian american author, NNEDI OKORAFOR, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, POWERS, published in 2021, read in 2021, Remote Control, road trip, SCI-FI, SPECULATIVE FICTION, survival, TOR novella, travel, witchcraft -
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
“Your eyes meet in the silence. The gaze requires no words at all. It is an honest meeting.” Open Water is an exceedingly lyrical debut. The story, narrated through a second-person perspective (ie ‘you’) is centred on the relationship between two Black British artists (he is a photographer, she is a dancer). Although their relationship…
2nd pov, 3 STARS, Adult, ART/CREATIVITY, Black & Black heritage authors, British Ghanian author, Caleb Azumah Nelson, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, england, friendships, Ghana, identity, LONDON, loneliness, Longing, lyrical prose, male authors, masculinity, netgalley, Open Water, photographers, PHOTOGRAPHY, published in 2021, RACE, read in 2021, ROMANCE, style over character, unnamed characters -
His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie
“All men are the same, they only know how to love themselves and to sit on women.” His Only Wife is an engrossing story that hooked me from the very first line: “Elikem married me in absentia; he did not come to our wedding.”. The novel tells the story of Afi, a young woman who…
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Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
“That was the thing that was at the heart of my reluctance and my resentment. Some people make it out of their stories unscathed, thriving. Some people don’t.” In an eloquent and precise prose Yaa Gyasi interrogates a young woman’s relationship to her family, her faith, her past, and her self. Her brother’s addiction and…
1st pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, Adult, alabama, America, American, beautiful prose, Black & Black heritage authors, CHILDHOOD, Christianity, Contemporary, DEPRESSION, female authors, Ghana, Ghanian American author, growing up, identity, illness, introspective, labs, LITERARY FICTION, Longing, MEMORY, mental health, mothers & daughters, published in 2020, RACE, re-reads, read in 2020, read in 2022, Religion, science, scientists & co, siblings, social issues, Transcendent Kingdom, trauma, Yaa Gyasi -
Bad Love by Maame Blue — book review
Bad Love is a compelling debut novel that is part modern love story, part coming of age. The novel’s narrator and protagonist recounts her first relationship, one that blurred the line between ‘good’ love and ‘bad’ love. Ekuah, a British-Ghanaian university student in London, meets Dee on a night out with her friends. From this…
luce [is reading] 