Publisher: Berkley Books
Published: September 28, 2021
Source: Personal copy
Summary:
When a woman travels to Nigeria to attend the funeral of the father she never knew, she meets her extravagant family for the first time, a new and inspiring love interest, and discovers parts of herself she didn’t know were missing, from Jane Igharo, the acclaimed author of Ties That Tether.
Hannah Bailey has never known her father, the Nigerian entrepreneur who had a brief relationship with her white mother. Because of this, Hannah has always felt uncertain about part of her identity. When her father dies, she’s invited to Nigeria for the funeral. Though she wants to hate the man who abandoned her, she’s curious about who he was and where he was from. Searching for answers, Hannah boards a plane to Lagos, Nigeria.
In Banana Island, one of Nigeria’s most affluent areas, Hannah meets the Jolades, her late father’s prestigious family–some who accept her and some who think she doesn’t belong. The days leading up to the funeral are chaotic, but Hannah is soon shaped by secrets that unfold, a culture she never thought she would understand or appreciate, and a man who steals her heart and helps her to see herself in a new light.
My thoughts:
This is the first book I’ve read by Jane Igharo and it definitely will not be the last. It was one of our bookclub picks in September and I’m so glad we selected it…we had such a great discussion about the book.
I loved that this was so much more than just a romance novel. It’s about finding the family you didn’t know you had and learning more about that culture. While I would have liked a bit more of a deeper dive into the culture, I did appreciate what we did get. I think the author does a great job showing the difference in the haves and the have nots of the Nigerian people. And of course, I loved the family dynamics – I always love a story that focuses on this and having the story told from multiple points of view allowed us to really get to know Hannah’s newly found siblings better than had the story just been told from her point of view.
This was an enjoyable read and definitely a good one for bookclubs as there is a lot to discuss. I did like the writing and now I’m quite eager to pick up Jane Igharo’s earlier book, Ties That Tether, which I hear is fantastic!
