Shortlisted for the HWA Crown Debut Award - Shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature Christopher Bland Prize - Shortlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award
About the Author
Rosanna Amaka began writing The Book of Echoes twenty years ago to give voice to the Brixton community in which she grew up. Her community was fast disappearing - as a result of gentrification, emigration back to the Caribbean and Africa, or simply with the passing away of the older generation. Its depiction of unimaginable pain redeemed by love and hope was also inspired by a wish to understand the impact of history on present-day lives. Rosanna Amaka lives in South London. This is her first novel. Meet her at @RosannaAmaka, Visit rosannaamaka.com
About the book
Brixton 1981 - Sixteen-year-old Michael is already on the wrong side of the law. In in his community, where job opportunities are low and drug-running is high, this is nothing new.
But when Michael falls for Ngozi, a vibrant young immigrant from the Nigerian village of Obowi, their startling connection runs far deeper than they realise.
Narrated by the spirit of an African woman who lost her life on a slave ship two centuries earlier, her powerful story reveals how Michael and Ngozi's struggle for happiness began many lifetimes ago.
Through haunting, lyrical words, one unforgettable message resonates: love, hope and unity will heal us all.
Review
Loved this book. It is one of my favourites of this year so far. It is an exceptional blend of historical fiction, contemporary read and magical realism.
Narrated by a young woman ripped from her family, country and continent over two hundred years ago - this dual timeline and character story tells a story of painful truths. Slavery, systemic racism, cultural identity and simultaneously the bonds of ancestors that are imprinted in our bones and souls.
Gosh I hope this author graces readers with more of where that came from. The voice of the stolen woman, the slave and the narrator of the piece, are so devastatingly haunting. There is a juxtaposition between the beauty of the descriptive lyrical prose and the events she is describing.
It feels as if Amaka has managed to accurately describe the pain and trauma that echoes through the generations of the stolen. If there is an epigenetic transmission of Holocaust trauma then it wouldn't be at all farfetched to assume the same for the descendants of slaves. This is what is captured so poetically and brutally in the ghosts that watch over each generation - their voices echo through each individual in one way or the other. It's a spectacular read.
Buy The Book of Echoes at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Black Swan; pub date 1st July 2021 | Paperback £8.99. Buy at Amazon com.
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