Reviews

Growing up in the same small Ghanaian town, Selasi and Akorfa were more than just cousins, they were best friends. The girls shared everything: their dreams, their desires, their every secret. But as they enter their teens Selasi begins to change, until Akorfa barely recognises the sullen, withdrawn girl she once knew so well.

Years go by before they cross paths again, and their lives look very different now. Although they are separated by continents, they have each found success in their careers: Akorfa works in international development in the US; Selasi is a restaurateur running the hottest spot in Accra. It takes a crisis to pull them back together, forcing both women to confront shocking secrets and childhood trauma that neither one has been willing to address. Now they must bridge the gulf between them to stop history repeating itself.

The novel is narrated first by Akorfa and then by Selasi, each telling the stories of their lives from childhood to adulthood. Akorfa's is a life of privilege, whilst Selasi has nothing but loss and challenge. Both build successful careers and find loving husbands who are equally successful.

The author draws the characters of Akorfa and Selasi - two strong women - really well, and there is good character development. The change in narrator from Akorfa to Selasi also allows the reader a very different perspective on the same events, reminding us that we cannot rely on just one. There are two sides to every story.

This is a novel about two women on very different paths, giving two different versions of a single, shared history: history that includes childhood trauma, personal struggle, toxic masculinity, the institutional racism of America, or the failed and corrupt government of Ghana. (Both states are shown to be problematic and dysfunctional, but in different ways).

It's also a story about friendship and estrangement; about the relationships and communities that shape us; and about the ripple effect of the choices that people make because of fear, and societal, community and familial pressures, and patriarchal power.

It's thought-provoking book which offers fascinating insights into both Ghanaian life, and the Black experience in America, featuring two memorably strong Black women.

japxican's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Arson ftw

yetanothersusan's review

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2.75

This book confused me. The first half I would have rated a 2 star but the second half would have been a 4 star. The first half was super slow and overly detailed to the point where I checked (multiple times) to confirm that it wasn't a memoir. There were too many events that didn't have any impact on the overall story but were described in way too many details. This caused my reading to slog along. Then at about the halfway mark, the narrator changes, the pace picks up, and events are explained in a much more enjoyable manner. Bad: some of the same events from the first half were rehashed again. Good: Not all the events were rehashed and the ones included made some sense. A perfect world would have been mixing the two parts together, relying mainly on the second half and adding some of the first half and cutting the book down by about 100 pages and making it engaging throughout. I also struggled with how the characters never gave each other the benefit of a doubt. Everyone went straight to being defensive and aggressive. Is that a cultural difference? Either way, it made me dislike the characters and question their version of "family." I enjoyed her first book much better.

Thanks to Algonquin Books for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.

manonbo93's review

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3.0

I loved the concept/the story but its format was, in my opinion, badly structured. The story is told from both women’s POVs, but instead of switching we get the complete story from Akorfa first and then all of it from Selasi’s side. Akorfa was a bit annoying and unlikeable, and the pace went from slow to extremely fast, skipping years at a time. This made it impossible to really get into her character (and thus, she remained a bit annoying). I liked Selasi a lot more and her story was paced a lot better. I would’ve liked the last bit, where they reconnect, to be longer.

I was really frustrated by Akorfa’s mother and it was heartbreaking that she wasn’t redeemed. But maybe that is realistic.. some people do not change.

All in all; good concept and complex story with intricate family relationships, but poorly formatted.

annrhub's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

aruarian_melody's review against another edition

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Loved the concept and the first paragraph really pulled me in. But the writing style ended up really not working for me and I dnf'd this one. I had no idea how old the characters were - we jumped from childhood playing with dolls to taking an exam for college and the voice of the narrator stayed the same. Overall it was too much "tell don't show" and therefore it remained surface level when I wanted to dive into these characters and their (promised) complicated relationship. Instead we get a reunion after years apart described in a handful of pages - with a direct description of how they changed with one-sentence examples for this change of behaviour... Just show me 2-3 moments and let me figure it out myself... I'm already feeling incredibly distant from the story and its characters and don't want to slide back into a reading slump.

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