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Sankofa
An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.
Masterful in its examination of freedom, prejudice, and personal and public inheritance, Sankofa is a story for anyone who has ever gone looking for a clear identity or home, and found something more complex in its place.
Anna is at a stage of her life when she's beginning to wonder who she really is. She has separated from her husband, her daughter is all grown up, and her mother—the only parent who raised her—is dead.
Searching through her mother's belongings one day, Anna finds clues about the African father she never knew. His student diaries chronicle his involvement in radical politics in 1970s London. Anna discovers that he eventually became the president—some would say dictator—of a small nation in West Africa. And he is still alive...
When Anna decides to track her father down, a journey begins that is disarmingly moving, funny, and fascinating. Like the metaphorical bird that gives the novel its name, Sankofa expresses the importance of reaching back to knowledge gained in the past and bringing it into the present to address universal questions of race and belonging, the overseas experience for the African diaspora, and the search for a family's hidden roots.
Masterful in its examination of freedom, prejudice, and personal and public inheritance, Sankofa is a story for anyone who has ever gone looking for a clear identity or home, and found something more complex in its place.
Anna is at a stage of her life when she's beginning to wonder who she really is. She has separated from her husband, her daughter is all grown up, and her mother—the only parent who raised her—is dead.
Searching through her mother's belongings one day, Anna finds clues about the African father she never knew. His student diaries chronicle his involvement in radical politics in 1970s London. Anna discovers that he eventually became the president—some would say dictator—of a small nation in West Africa. And he is still alive...
When Anna decides to track her father down, a journey begins that is disarmingly moving, funny, and fascinating. Like the metaphorical bird that gives the novel its name, Sankofa expresses the importance of reaching back to knowledge gained in the past and bringing it into the present to address universal questions of race and belonging, the overseas experience for the African diaspora, and the search for a family's hidden roots.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published June 3, 2021
1,283 people are currently reading
32.1k people want to read
About the author
Chibundu Onuzo
8books646followersChibundu Onuzo was born in Nigeria in 1991 in Lagos and is the youngest of four children. She is a History graduate from King's College London and is currently an MSc student in Public Policy at the University College of London.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 1,939 reviews
December 23, 2021
I enjoyed reading “Sankofa� by Chibundu Onuzo. It began a bit slow for me. It is a slow and brooding story about a rudderless woman who just suffered the loss of her mother and suffered the knowledge that her husband is having an affair. The two big stresses are the motivating factors in her eventual search of identity.
Anna Bain was the only child to her single mother. Anna is black by all definitions in the United States. Anna’s mother is white and had a Collage affair with a black student from a small country in Africa. After the man left, Anna’s mother discovered she was pregnant. To Anna, her mother did a horrible job raising her black. Her mother didn’t think race should be a factor in Anna’s personal growth. Anna never felt she found her people/group. Blacks saw she was mixed, and whites saw that she was black.
As the story opens Anna is going through her mother’s things and discovers the diary of her birth father. Her mother told her nothing about him, so she becomes intrigued. After reading his diary entries, she decides to go to the fictitious African country to try and meet him. If there is a weak link in the story, it’s that a coddled single 48 year-old woman would go to a small African country (like Ghana) alone without any language skills or personal itinerary. I’m splitting hairs…but still�
Once she arrives in Bamana(ersatz country), the book picks up. We learn more of Anna, as she processes her life. Here in Bamana she’s white and an outsider. She continues to be uncomfortable being biracial. She attempts to learn more about her birth father. Onuzo does a fantastic job using Anna’s musings to illustrate the conflicting feelings, struggles and thoughts of biracial people.
The best part of the story is Anna’s personal growth. Yes, we can change/improve ourselves.
Anna Bain was the only child to her single mother. Anna is black by all definitions in the United States. Anna’s mother is white and had a Collage affair with a black student from a small country in Africa. After the man left, Anna’s mother discovered she was pregnant. To Anna, her mother did a horrible job raising her black. Her mother didn’t think race should be a factor in Anna’s personal growth. Anna never felt she found her people/group. Blacks saw she was mixed, and whites saw that she was black.
As the story opens Anna is going through her mother’s things and discovers the diary of her birth father. Her mother told her nothing about him, so she becomes intrigued. After reading his diary entries, she decides to go to the fictitious African country to try and meet him. If there is a weak link in the story, it’s that a coddled single 48 year-old woman would go to a small African country (like Ghana) alone without any language skills or personal itinerary. I’m splitting hairs…but still�
Once she arrives in Bamana(ersatz country), the book picks up. We learn more of Anna, as she processes her life. Here in Bamana she’s white and an outsider. She continues to be uncomfortable being biracial. She attempts to learn more about her birth father. Onuzo does a fantastic job using Anna’s musings to illustrate the conflicting feelings, struggles and thoughts of biracial people.
The best part of the story is Anna’s personal growth. Yes, we can change/improve ourselves.
November 15, 2021
A Reese Book Club Pick -
*Sankofa* a mythical bird in West Africa�.
“It teaches us that we must go back to our roots in order to move forward�.
And�.that’s what Anna Bain does. From London to West Africa, she travels in search of answers about the father she never knew.
An easy read � yet written lovingly-
It’s a sensitive story - that explores identity- mixed-race relationships-culture-heritage-history-political strife-racism-and love
What gives this book its strength is at its core � it’s filled with warmth, intimacy, and compassion�..and just enough mystery-adventure to keep us turning pages.
Chibundu Onuzo’s writing is ‘comfy reading� with that effortlessly storytelling feeling.
Her characters are tender and irresistible.
Emotionally satisfying!
*Sankofa* a mythical bird in West Africa�.
“It teaches us that we must go back to our roots in order to move forward�.
And�.that’s what Anna Bain does. From London to West Africa, she travels in search of answers about the father she never knew.
An easy read � yet written lovingly-
It’s a sensitive story - that explores identity- mixed-race relationships-culture-heritage-history-political strife-racism-and love
What gives this book its strength is at its core � it’s filled with warmth, intimacy, and compassion�..and just enough mystery-adventure to keep us turning pages.
Chibundu Onuzo’s writing is ‘comfy reading� with that effortlessly storytelling feeling.
Her characters are tender and irresistible.
Emotionally satisfying!
January 15, 2022
A little disappointed by the characters who seem like a little shallow and stiff, especially Anna, a woman who being around 50 discovers the identity of her father, an African, whom she has never met. Having found his diaries in her mother's belongings, Anna decides to establish the contact and to compare the young man who studied in London with the man he became the president aka ruthless dictator.
The plot has a potential and my third star is for the idea behind the book, but to be honest while listening to the audiobook I didn't mind being interrupted and having to call it a day.
OverDrive, thank you!
The plot has a potential and my third star is for the idea behind the book, but to be honest while listening to the audiobook I didn't mind being interrupted and having to call it a day.
OverDrive, thank you!
October 25, 2021
I'm late to the Reese Witherspoon book club train. I recently read The Paper Palace and lurved it so I thought 'the hell! I'm missing out on things!'
Reese you failed me on this one.
Anna finds a journal after her mother dies and realizes it's from her father. She never knew him since her mom was pregnant when he left and she never contacted him. His writing makes her want to find him and somehow that is going to make her life come together.
Let's talk about her life. She is in her fifties and contemplating divorce since her husband couldn't keep his weiney in his pants. She has a grown daughter who has an eating disorder. Her mom left her a flat which she sells to have the money to travel to see her dad.
This really isn't spoilery...but her dad happens to be the leader of a small nation. Once there she explains to him that she isn't after his money that she is quiet well set back at home. What? Honey the only money you have is what you are spending.
Then the whole pitiful me thing. I didn't like it. I get your husband is a asshole. I get your daughter has some major problems (which are sorta glossed over in this book). But dang...this character comes across as a whiney teenager instead of a grown woman.
Throw in some characters that appear in the story for no apparent reason and you get a two star review. It was allright and readable...but I would have skipped it.
Booksource: library .
Reese you failed me on this one.
Anna finds a journal after her mother dies and realizes it's from her father. She never knew him since her mom was pregnant when he left and she never contacted him. His writing makes her want to find him and somehow that is going to make her life come together.
Let's talk about her life. She is in her fifties and contemplating divorce since her husband couldn't keep his weiney in his pants. She has a grown daughter who has an eating disorder. Her mom left her a flat which she sells to have the money to travel to see her dad.
This really isn't spoilery...but her dad happens to be the leader of a small nation. Once there she explains to him that she isn't after his money that she is quiet well set back at home. What? Honey the only money you have is what you are spending.
Then the whole pitiful me thing. I didn't like it. I get your husband is a asshole. I get your daughter has some major problems (which are sorta glossed over in this book). But dang...this character comes across as a whiney teenager instead of a grown woman.
Throw in some characters that appear in the story for no apparent reason and you get a two star review. It was allright and readable...but I would have skipped it.
Booksource: library .
February 16, 2022
This novel, about a middle-aged woman seeking her roots, was a lovely surprise. Like the mythical bird "Sankofa," Anna is adrift, moving forward, looking backward, until she travels to West Africa to meet her father. Her experiences there are wonderfully rendered. I was utterly absorbed and moved by her journey. (I listened to the excellent audio, read by Sara Powell.
May 30, 2022
❶ ❶ ❶ ❶ ❶ ❶
A poignant novel exploring a complicated father-daughter relationship is ultimately weighed down by unnecessary side-characters and by a superficial approach to serious issues. While I appreciate the themes the author touches upon in Sankofa, I found this novel to lack cohesiveness. The story begins with Anna, daughter of a white Welsh mother and a Black father from a fictional country in West Africa, who is in her late forties and in the process of separating from her husband. Not only Anna is grieving her marriage but her mother, who died months previously. Anna chances upon her estranged father's old journals. Her mother revealed very little of his identity, giving Anna a name, Francis Aggrey, and not much else. Through her father's entries, Anna glimpses for the first time in her life her father's character. These journals relate his time in England, the racism he experienced, the friends he made, his politics, as well as his brief relationship with Anna's mother.
Anna is amazed to discover the role her father played in his country's liberation from colonial rule and shaken to learn that many went on to speak of his time as Bamana's Prime Minister as resembling a dictatorship. In a rather conventional way, the novel sees Anna traveling to Bamana to meet her father who is unaware of her existence.
The story is at its best when it focuses on Anna time with her now an elderly father. His entries were certainly compelling but, as Anna herself notes, some of what he does is questionable indeed. I also found that Anna's analysis of his entries detracted from the entries themselves. She would simply go on to reiterate what had just happened in the actual entry so that most of her observations came across as banal and or obvious. And why in the world did she have to keep on repeating his name and surname every time she mentioned/thought of him?
Anna's experience at Bamana had its interesting moments. For example, she quickly realizes that to the locals she is white and that her view of African countries such as Bamana betrays her Westerner gaze (she takes for granted certain things, acts rashly without considering the repercussion of her actions, and applies her anglicized views on certain events and or encounters). Although few, Anna's recollections of her childhood and her mother were also compelling. Anna's mother seemed unwilling to admit that her daughter could be treated differently because of being Black, often downplaying Anna's experiences of racism or using the 'I see no color' card.
Most of the secondary characters, with perhaps the exception of Anna's 'new' siblings, were rather one-dimensional or played bizarre roles in Anna's story. For instance, she meets this man and most of their interactions have this quality of unease, a certain something that made me think he was a danger to her, but no, his terrible attempts at flirting and creepy behavior are all of a sudden brushed away (?).
Anna's husband remains a nondescript figure while her daughter, who is in her twenties, comes across as a teenager more often than not, practically bullying her mother into divorcing her dad. The daughter has an eating disorder and this is something that is used to create tension between her and Anna. And I, for one, did not care for it. Why include this issue if you are just using it to add some 'drama'?
The most eventful part of the story happens in the last portion of the novel. Here Anna and her relationship with her father and his country come to the forefront of the story (coincidentally it is here that her daughter, husband, weirdo guy are pushed to the sidelines).
As I said, I appreciate most of the themes incorporated in this novel and the author's discussion on race, colonialism, poverty, and cultural differences. However, her characters often came across as little more than names on a page, Anna more so than her father. She was a housewife so the story addresses how that decision affected her life but still, even without a career/job one can have a personality, and Anna did not. She functions as a vehicle, someone who is there to move the story along and to make the most basic of observations. There was a lot of repetition, most of these were Anna reiterating something that has just been said (such her thinking 'Anna is an anagram of Nana' just after someone had told her that if you move the letters in Anna you get Nana and vice-versa). I also cared little for the present-tense of her narration.
Overall, this was a somewhat patchy novel and although I did not particularly care for it I would probably read something else by this author and I recommend prospective readers to check out some more positive reviews.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A poignant novel exploring a complicated father-daughter relationship is ultimately weighed down by unnecessary side-characters and by a superficial approach to serious issues. While I appreciate the themes the author touches upon in Sankofa, I found this novel to lack cohesiveness. The story begins with Anna, daughter of a white Welsh mother and a Black father from a fictional country in West Africa, who is in her late forties and in the process of separating from her husband. Not only Anna is grieving her marriage but her mother, who died months previously. Anna chances upon her estranged father's old journals. Her mother revealed very little of his identity, giving Anna a name, Francis Aggrey, and not much else. Through her father's entries, Anna glimpses for the first time in her life her father's character. These journals relate his time in England, the racism he experienced, the friends he made, his politics, as well as his brief relationship with Anna's mother.
Anna is amazed to discover the role her father played in his country's liberation from colonial rule and shaken to learn that many went on to speak of his time as Bamana's Prime Minister as resembling a dictatorship. In a rather conventional way, the novel sees Anna traveling to Bamana to meet her father who is unaware of her existence.
The story is at its best when it focuses on Anna time with her now an elderly father. His entries were certainly compelling but, as Anna herself notes, some of what he does is questionable indeed. I also found that Anna's analysis of his entries detracted from the entries themselves. She would simply go on to reiterate what had just happened in the actual entry so that most of her observations came across as banal and or obvious. And why in the world did she have to keep on repeating his name and surname every time she mentioned/thought of him?
Anna's experience at Bamana had its interesting moments. For example, she quickly realizes that to the locals she is white and that her view of African countries such as Bamana betrays her Westerner gaze (she takes for granted certain things, acts rashly without considering the repercussion of her actions, and applies her anglicized views on certain events and or encounters). Although few, Anna's recollections of her childhood and her mother were also compelling. Anna's mother seemed unwilling to admit that her daughter could be treated differently because of being Black, often downplaying Anna's experiences of racism or using the 'I see no color' card.
Most of the secondary characters, with perhaps the exception of Anna's 'new' siblings, were rather one-dimensional or played bizarre roles in Anna's story. For instance, she meets this man and most of their interactions have this quality of unease, a certain something that made me think he was a danger to her, but no, his terrible attempts at flirting and creepy behavior are all of a sudden brushed away (?).
Anna's husband remains a nondescript figure while her daughter, who is in her twenties, comes across as a teenager more often than not, practically bullying her mother into divorcing her dad. The daughter has an eating disorder and this is something that is used to create tension between her and Anna. And I, for one, did not care for it. Why include this issue if you are just using it to add some 'drama'?
The most eventful part of the story happens in the last portion of the novel. Here Anna and her relationship with her father and his country come to the forefront of the story (coincidentally it is here that her daughter, husband, weirdo guy are pushed to the sidelines).
As I said, I appreciate most of the themes incorporated in this novel and the author's discussion on race, colonialism, poverty, and cultural differences. However, her characters often came across as little more than names on a page, Anna more so than her father. She was a housewife so the story addresses how that decision affected her life but still, even without a career/job one can have a personality, and Anna did not. She functions as a vehicle, someone who is there to move the story along and to make the most basic of observations. There was a lot of repetition, most of these were Anna reiterating something that has just been said (such her thinking 'Anna is an anagram of Nana' just after someone had told her that if you move the letters in Anna you get Nana and vice-versa). I also cared little for the present-tense of her narration.
Overall, this was a somewhat patchy novel and although I did not particularly care for it I would probably read something else by this author and I recommend prospective readers to check out some more positive reviews.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
November 19, 2021
Woah, what a journey! This was great! I liked the prejudices that were pointed throughout the story. I felt like I kept getting the unexpected throughout the story and I loved that.
Read
February 8, 2023phenomenal writing but had to dnf, we were so bored 😭😭
June 3, 2021
Sankofa is a compelling, surprising and profound story of a mixed-race British woman who goes in search of the West African father she never knew, by award-winning author Chibundu Onuzo. Anna is the daughter of a white Welsh mother and a black father and is at the stage of her life when she's beginning to wonder who she really is. She has separated from her husband, her daughter is all grown up, and her mother--the only parent who raised her--died several months ago. Searching through her mother's belongings one day, Anna finds clues about the African father she never knew. His student diaries chronicle his involvement in radical politics in 1970s London but her mother never told her much about him apart from his name - Francis Aggrey.
Through these journals she builds a picture of him in her head. He charts his time with Anna’s mother, the racism he was subjected to and the friends he made while in England. She learns that he helped liberate his home country from colonialists, but Anna later discovers, much to her disappointment, that he eventually became the president--some would say dictator--of a small nation in West Africa called Bamana. And he is still alive. When Anna decides to track her father down, a journey begins that is disarmingly moving, funny and fascinating but she very quickly realises her views are seen perceived as those of a white westerner and an outsider and she is viewed with suspicion.
The narrative raises universal questions of race and belonging, the overseas experience for the African diaspora, and the search for a family's hidden roots. Masterful in its examination of freedom, prejudice, and personal and public inheritance, Sankofa is a story for anyone who has ever gone looking for a clear identity or home and found something more complex in its place. Anna’s search is captivating and her search for identity is one we will all go on at some point in our lives. As much as being a personal journey, though, this is a dissection of colonialism, racism, culture and poverty, and Onuzo has done a superb job of weaving these aspects together and capturing the essence of a people and a place. Highly recommended.
Through these journals she builds a picture of him in her head. He charts his time with Anna’s mother, the racism he was subjected to and the friends he made while in England. She learns that he helped liberate his home country from colonialists, but Anna later discovers, much to her disappointment, that he eventually became the president--some would say dictator--of a small nation in West Africa called Bamana. And he is still alive. When Anna decides to track her father down, a journey begins that is disarmingly moving, funny and fascinating but she very quickly realises her views are seen perceived as those of a white westerner and an outsider and she is viewed with suspicion.
The narrative raises universal questions of race and belonging, the overseas experience for the African diaspora, and the search for a family's hidden roots. Masterful in its examination of freedom, prejudice, and personal and public inheritance, Sankofa is a story for anyone who has ever gone looking for a clear identity or home and found something more complex in its place. Anna’s search is captivating and her search for identity is one we will all go on at some point in our lives. As much as being a personal journey, though, this is a dissection of colonialism, racism, culture and poverty, and Onuzo has done a superb job of weaving these aspects together and capturing the essence of a people and a place. Highly recommended.
June 1, 2021
Sankofa is a simple, beautifully written book so compelling that I read it all in one day. It's the story of Anna Bain a mixed-race British woman who at 48 years old, following her mothers' death, discovers that her father, Francis Aggrey, a man she never knew is alive and living in Bamana in West Africa.
She gets a glimpse of who Francis was by reading the diaries he left with her mother before he left England for Africa and feels an affinity with him through the pages of his decades-old journals. With her marriage on the rocks and her daughter old enough to live her own life, Anna decides to travel to Bamana on her own and meet the father she never got the chance to know. The man she finds when she arrives seems very different to the somewhat naive Francis of his diaries but the more she gets to know him, the more Anna understands that identity can be complex and multi-faceted.
Although Bamana and its capital Segu are fictional places in the context of the novel, their names have links to real cities or past empires in Africa. I thought this choice was really clever as it allows Onuzo to maintain a level of authenticity without being bound by the need to stick to historical facts. References to traditions, foods and local dialect all have roots in West African culture which roots the story in reality in a way that may not have happened had Onuzo chosen to create a completely new, fictional language or set of traditions.
Anna who was always aware of her blackness in Britain is surprised to find herself categorised as white when she lands in Bamana, her pale skin standing out as foreign in a land where the majority of people are dark skinned. It's not just her skin colour or hair texture that makes her stand out, it's the assumptions and presumptions she unconsciously holds about Africa from living in the West and consuming its version of history.
I thought Onuzo deftly used Anna's mixed-race identity to explore issues around race and the legacy of colonialism in a way that didn't feel preachy or shoe-horned in to make a point. While, it's perfectly possible to read Sankofa as a straightforward story of a woman looking to connect with a father she never knew, for those willing to dig a little deeper there is a lot more to this tale. Onuzo addresses issues of power, corruption, racism, colourism, father-daughter relationships, sibling relationships, tradition, eating disorders and infidelity in a nuanced way that will encourage you to go away and do your own research or simply assess your own biases.
Prior to reading Sankofa, I had read The Spider King's Daughter by the same author and can see in this, Onuzo's third book, just how much skill she has already gained as a writer. Her writing style in Sankofa is more assured and impactful as much for what she does say as what she leaves unsaid. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in stories about family and/or race. I look forward to seeing what Onuzo will go on to write as she goes from strength to strength as an author.
She gets a glimpse of who Francis was by reading the diaries he left with her mother before he left England for Africa and feels an affinity with him through the pages of his decades-old journals. With her marriage on the rocks and her daughter old enough to live her own life, Anna decides to travel to Bamana on her own and meet the father she never got the chance to know. The man she finds when she arrives seems very different to the somewhat naive Francis of his diaries but the more she gets to know him, the more Anna understands that identity can be complex and multi-faceted.
Although Bamana and its capital Segu are fictional places in the context of the novel, their names have links to real cities or past empires in Africa. I thought this choice was really clever as it allows Onuzo to maintain a level of authenticity without being bound by the need to stick to historical facts. References to traditions, foods and local dialect all have roots in West African culture which roots the story in reality in a way that may not have happened had Onuzo chosen to create a completely new, fictional language or set of traditions.
Anna who was always aware of her blackness in Britain is surprised to find herself categorised as white when she lands in Bamana, her pale skin standing out as foreign in a land where the majority of people are dark skinned. It's not just her skin colour or hair texture that makes her stand out, it's the assumptions and presumptions she unconsciously holds about Africa from living in the West and consuming its version of history.
I thought Onuzo deftly used Anna's mixed-race identity to explore issues around race and the legacy of colonialism in a way that didn't feel preachy or shoe-horned in to make a point. While, it's perfectly possible to read Sankofa as a straightforward story of a woman looking to connect with a father she never knew, for those willing to dig a little deeper there is a lot more to this tale. Onuzo addresses issues of power, corruption, racism, colourism, father-daughter relationships, sibling relationships, tradition, eating disorders and infidelity in a nuanced way that will encourage you to go away and do your own research or simply assess your own biases.
Prior to reading Sankofa, I had read The Spider King's Daughter by the same author and can see in this, Onuzo's third book, just how much skill she has already gained as a writer. Her writing style in Sankofa is more assured and impactful as much for what she does say as what she leaves unsaid. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in stories about family and/or race. I look forward to seeing what Onuzo will go on to write as she goes from strength to strength as an author.
June 25, 2022
This was a difficult book for me to finish.
Few things I liked : I’m reminded that parents have fully formed personalities and their children more often than not have to adjust because no one gets to choose who their born to .
“I could not resist Kofi. He understood this, perhaps: that a child can long for a parent in a way that a parent can never long for a child. �
Anna the main character was at a time of her life that she started to think of finding herself. This was more crucial for her because there was a divorce to deal with and a daughter with her own life crises and also her mother’s death.
To be honest ; this book did not do justice to the symbolism it advertised. The fictional state vibe did not sit right with me. Especially because I’m Ghanaian and I kept seeing a number of misrepresentation of very Ghanaian things.
The one time reference was made to Sankofa, it was so out of place that I was lost for a bit.
“You came to meet a man in the past. There is a mythical bird we have here, Anna. We call it the sankofa. It flies forwards with its head facing back. It’s a poetic image but it cannot work in real life.�
I think the storyline would have sufficed to explain the title without that mention in the story.
I know that Sankofa literally means “to go back and get it.�
Perhaps this book was just not meant for me.
Few things I liked : I’m reminded that parents have fully formed personalities and their children more often than not have to adjust because no one gets to choose who their born to .
“I could not resist Kofi. He understood this, perhaps: that a child can long for a parent in a way that a parent can never long for a child. �
Anna the main character was at a time of her life that she started to think of finding herself. This was more crucial for her because there was a divorce to deal with and a daughter with her own life crises and also her mother’s death.
To be honest ; this book did not do justice to the symbolism it advertised. The fictional state vibe did not sit right with me. Especially because I’m Ghanaian and I kept seeing a number of misrepresentation of very Ghanaian things.
The one time reference was made to Sankofa, it was so out of place that I was lost for a bit.
“You came to meet a man in the past. There is a mythical bird we have here, Anna. We call it the sankofa. It flies forwards with its head facing back. It’s a poetic image but it cannot work in real life.�
I think the storyline would have sufficed to explain the title without that mention in the story.
I know that Sankofa literally means “to go back and get it.�
Perhaps this book was just not meant for me.
May 21, 2023
The story revolves around Anna Bain - a 48 year old biracial woman living in London, England. She is trying to adapt to being separated from her husband. Also, Anna's mother has recently died. Her young adult daughter worries her, due to an eating disorder.
While cleaning out her mother's belongings, Anna finds a diary written by her father when he was a young man. Anna had never met him when growing up. Neither had her mother told her about him. This is the story of how Anna travels to Africa to meet him. After leaving England and Anna's mother, the father had returned to his small African country. He worked to overthrow its colonist government and then became its first native born leader. Anna is warned that some view her father as a despot.
The author's writing looks at such matters as racial identity and prejudice, parenting, and political power. I found these subjects interesting. Where the book fell down for me is that the story didn't quite gel together. I had a hard time believing some of the events that took place. And, I didn't fully warm up to Anna herself.
3.5 stars
While cleaning out her mother's belongings, Anna finds a diary written by her father when he was a young man. Anna had never met him when growing up. Neither had her mother told her about him. This is the story of how Anna travels to Africa to meet him. After leaving England and Anna's mother, the father had returned to his small African country. He worked to overthrow its colonist government and then became its first native born leader. Anna is warned that some view her father as a despot.
The author's writing looks at such matters as racial identity and prejudice, parenting, and political power. I found these subjects interesting. Where the book fell down for me is that the story didn't quite gel together. I had a hard time believing some of the events that took place. And, I didn't fully warm up to Anna herself.
3.5 stars
July 25, 2021
A very meandering read that sucks you in because you have to know what goes down!
Sanokfa is the story about a middle-aged woman who recently buries her mother and while packing away her mother’s things she finds journals that were written by her father who she’s never met. From there, her life turns upside down in her quest to find out who her father is.
Anna is in the process of getting divorce after finding out her husband was cheating on her for months. Added to that, her mother who did not have a strong relationship died, her only daughter moved out and she is living alone trying to decide on her next steps. This gets decided for her when she finds the diaries of her father, she knows nothing about. Her father is the President (possibly dictator) of an African country, and he is still alive. After weeks of research, she finds out more about her father� that he is a tyrant and he doesn’t know she even exists.
With a one-way ticket to Africa, Anna places her freedom and past before her� what could possibly go wrong?
Honestly, as much as this was a slow burner, I really enjoyed the read. It could possibly be the Nigerian version of EAT PRAY LOVE� because it’s got similar themes. I truly enjoy reading books written about middle-aged women finding themselves and I am here for it. I love the question of identity, culture, history and community that was explored.
I think was expecting a lot more to be honest. I also felt it was soooo slow and at certain points I kept thinking, “move this along please!!!!!�. I also felt that the story was there, but it wasn’t strongly executed. Some parts of the story did not come together, and other parts had me wanting more. It just felt like it need more “ummph�
Either way�. a nice read.
Sanokfa is the story about a middle-aged woman who recently buries her mother and while packing away her mother’s things she finds journals that were written by her father who she’s never met. From there, her life turns upside down in her quest to find out who her father is.
Anna is in the process of getting divorce after finding out her husband was cheating on her for months. Added to that, her mother who did not have a strong relationship died, her only daughter moved out and she is living alone trying to decide on her next steps. This gets decided for her when she finds the diaries of her father, she knows nothing about. Her father is the President (possibly dictator) of an African country, and he is still alive. After weeks of research, she finds out more about her father� that he is a tyrant and he doesn’t know she even exists.
With a one-way ticket to Africa, Anna places her freedom and past before her� what could possibly go wrong?
Honestly, as much as this was a slow burner, I really enjoyed the read. It could possibly be the Nigerian version of EAT PRAY LOVE� because it’s got similar themes. I truly enjoy reading books written about middle-aged women finding themselves and I am here for it. I love the question of identity, culture, history and community that was explored.
I think was expecting a lot more to be honest. I also felt it was soooo slow and at certain points I kept thinking, “move this along please!!!!!�. I also felt that the story was there, but it wasn’t strongly executed. Some parts of the story did not come together, and other parts had me wanting more. It just felt like it need more “ummph�
Either way�. a nice read.
November 19, 2021
Anna Bain Graham, a forty-something mixed-race British woman, grew up in England with her mother and never knew her father. Anna is in the midst of her own personal crisis. She and her husband are estranged due to his infidelity, and she is contemplating divorce. Upon her mother’s death, she discovers her father’s diary and goes in search of him. Her search takes her to West Africa, where she learns more about her father and herself.
This novel explores race, belonging, identity, and different forms of power. It is told in first person by protagonist Anna. The first half is dedicated to the discovery of the diary and figuring out how to find her father. The pace picks up in the second half when she arrives in Bamana.
Onuzo does a marvelous job of creating the fictional African country, complete with culture and political backstory. She examines how revolutionary ideals can devolve into corruption. She explores the way identity can become fractured. In Anna’s case, she has denied her personal power, allowing herself to be directed by circumstances and the will of others. Her trip to Africa helps her come to terms with the past. There is a segment that veers into the surreal, which did not quite fit with the rest of the story, but overall, I enjoyed it very much.
This novel explores race, belonging, identity, and different forms of power. It is told in first person by protagonist Anna. The first half is dedicated to the discovery of the diary and figuring out how to find her father. The pace picks up in the second half when she arrives in Bamana.
Onuzo does a marvelous job of creating the fictional African country, complete with culture and political backstory. She examines how revolutionary ideals can devolve into corruption. She explores the way identity can become fractured. In Anna’s case, she has denied her personal power, allowing herself to be directed by circumstances and the will of others. Her trip to Africa helps her come to terms with the past. There is a segment that veers into the surreal, which did not quite fit with the rest of the story, but overall, I enjoyed it very much.
April 24, 2021
Thank you, Virago, for providing access to this book. It's my first time reading Chibundu and I wasn't expecting anything but this book is very fast-paced I was able to get into the story very quickly.
Reading it as a Nigerian, I felt like there were a lot of inconsistencies that were distracting me from the plot. Also, I did not like the voice of the protagonist, for someone who is almost 50 years old, she sounded like a teenager and I don't know maybe because of the issues she has with her dad but I didn't like her voice.
Overall, it's an okay book.
Reading it as a Nigerian, I felt like there were a lot of inconsistencies that were distracting me from the plot. Also, I did not like the voice of the protagonist, for someone who is almost 50 years old, she sounded like a teenager and I don't know maybe because of the issues she has with her dad but I didn't like her voice.
Overall, it's an okay book.
November 10, 2021
Very good, and I would say riveting in a sense that, readers generally root for one longing for their roots. Ha, no pun intended. The Sankofa title and mythical bird on cover, to a certain extent telegraphs the idea of looking back in order to keep moving forward.
So, Anna the protagonist of this jaunty journey is quasi-obsessed with meeting her African father who ghosted her European mother before he knew of her pregnancy that birthed Anna. The prose is sprightly and some beautiful paragraphs are the result of such vibrancy.
The quest that Anna is on keeps things flowing at a steady and sometimes rising level, keeping the reader thoroughly engaged. Because of her mixed race existence, themes of race are easily explored and incorporated making for some interesting exchanges.
Then, there is the element of abandonment and culture divide which also contributes interesting debate. Especially since Anna’s father turns out to be a retired “dictator of sorts.�
On the whole, a very good novel by a writer growing more talented by each sentence. I ardently recommend this one, and put Chibundu Onuzo on your, “writers to watch� list.
So, Anna the protagonist of this jaunty journey is quasi-obsessed with meeting her African father who ghosted her European mother before he knew of her pregnancy that birthed Anna. The prose is sprightly and some beautiful paragraphs are the result of such vibrancy.
The quest that Anna is on keeps things flowing at a steady and sometimes rising level, keeping the reader thoroughly engaged. Because of her mixed race existence, themes of race are easily explored and incorporated making for some interesting exchanges.
Then, there is the element of abandonment and culture divide which also contributes interesting debate. Especially since Anna’s father turns out to be a retired “dictator of sorts.�
On the whole, a very good novel by a writer growing more talented by each sentence. I ardently recommend this one, and put Chibundu Onuzo on your, “writers to watch� list.
October 27, 2021
A lovely story about a woman’s journey to find herself, find her family and her roots. I enjoyed the story. I really liked the main character Anna. The writing is good. I picked this book up because I really liked the author - who she is, her character and her faith. It’s a good story. For me personally, I feel like I’ve read this similar story one too many times this year. Having said that, it’s still a good story.
October 18, 2021
This is a story of a 48- year-old British woman who sets out to Africa to reconnect with her ancestral roots. Her mother who died never told her who her father was. It turns out he was the first prime minister of Bamana, a fictional African country. He ruled for 30 years, and she learns he was a bit of a dictator. With her daughter grown and on the verge of divorce, she boards a plane for the six hour flight to the African country to see if she can meet her father. Anna is "half-caste" (African father, Welsh mother) with skin too dark to avoid racism in England and too light to fully fit in in Africa.
In Africa, she learns to confront her prejudices about her father and his guerrilla tactics to gain control over the country and gains acceptance into his family. “We have a saying: no child is a bastard. Even if the father and mother are fighting, it is not the business of the child. A man must take care of his children."
I didn't feel like we got to know Anna very well--the characterization is on the weak side. She's too indecisive to leave her husband yet she travels to an unknown and somewhat dangerous country on her own. The dialogue was a little weak, too. The characters sounded the same.
Onuzo explores the themes of identity and racism and prejudice, among others. In a way, it's a Cinderella -type story where an invisible woman suddenly realizes she is royalty. In that sense, it was a little hokey. One of Reese Witherspoon's picks, it's a quick read with a little bit of a fairy tale element to it. This for me was 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
In Africa, she learns to confront her prejudices about her father and his guerrilla tactics to gain control over the country and gains acceptance into his family. “We have a saying: no child is a bastard. Even if the father and mother are fighting, it is not the business of the child. A man must take care of his children."
I didn't feel like we got to know Anna very well--the characterization is on the weak side. She's too indecisive to leave her husband yet she travels to an unknown and somewhat dangerous country on her own. The dialogue was a little weak, too. The characters sounded the same.
Onuzo explores the themes of identity and racism and prejudice, among others. In a way, it's a Cinderella -type story where an invisible woman suddenly realizes she is royalty. In that sense, it was a little hokey. One of Reese Witherspoon's picks, it's a quick read with a little bit of a fairy tale element to it. This for me was 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
February 22, 2022
What does it mean for a woman to reclaim herself, to become herself?
“In order to understand our present and ensure our future, we must know our past.�
I was delightfully satisfied after reading this book about Anna Bain, a mixed-race British woman who goes in search of the West African father she never knew. Her mother refused to discuss anything about Anna's father with her. Her mother died from cancer but Anna found a diary that Francis K. Aggrey (her father) wrote that she found in her mother's belongings.
His diary chronicled the racism he was confronted with especially in the 1970s political climate in London. Anna Bain discovers that he eventually became the president � some would say, dictator � of a small nation in West Africa. At 48 years old, she found out that her father is still alive.
She's in the process of applying for a divorce from her husband Robert who had an affair with another woman. Yet, Anna is torn about whether to go forward with her divorce from Robert or to remain married. They still cared for each other, but Anna questions whether they should reconcile or not. Anna felt the stings of racism especially when some people thought she was the nanny of her daughter Rose (who looked white). She struggles with her racial identity, her heritage, and where she belongs.
She decides to go in search of her father (who is now known as Kofi Adjei) and discovers he is the first Prime Minister to Bamana. She travels with Adrian, an academic who knew her father and once wrote a book about him. Adrian arranges a meeting so that Anna could meet her father, but he does not tell her father who he was bringing with him. During the arranged dinner at her father's house with Adrian, her father asked her what was she doing in Bamana. He did not know she was his daughter. When she told him why he denied that was her father and told her and Adrian to leave his house immediately.
Feeling disappointed and that the trip was a waste of time, she prepared to return home. Before she was able to leave, one of her father's servants came to her hotel with a message from him asking her to stay. Although a little reluctant, she stayed and was taken to her father's village home, a different place from where she went for dinner. This was confusing to her but after arriving at his house, he revealed that he had a DNA test done from the items she ate and drank from when she came to his house the day before. Sure enough, the tests revealed that she was indeed his daughter, his oldest child.
Anna encountered people who kept referring to her as Obroni, meaning a white person or half-caste. A lot of tension arose between Anna and Kofi. He told her she didn't understand their customs after they disagreed on several social and ethical issues. Anna was too direct and confrontational with Kofi, especially since his other children never tried to debate with him. When Anna tried to catch her flight back to London again, she was detained and thrown in jail, being accused of being a spy. She later found out that her father was behind her mistreatment. But she discovered that she actually had power over this powerful man.
He told her the story about a mythical bird they had there called Sankofa. It flies forward while its head is looking backward with an egg (symbolizing the future) in its mouth. It's a poetic image that cannot work in real life. Sankofa is based on an African proverb "You can't know where you're going unless you know where you came from." Kofi took her to see Amma, a spiritual guide in the bush. Amma took Anna through her initiation rights. Although she was a woman, she was not a woman of the Bamanian culture. In Bermanian, Anna's name was Nana. Nana means queen.
This was truly a good read y'all.
“In order to understand our present and ensure our future, we must know our past.�
I was delightfully satisfied after reading this book about Anna Bain, a mixed-race British woman who goes in search of the West African father she never knew. Her mother refused to discuss anything about Anna's father with her. Her mother died from cancer but Anna found a diary that Francis K. Aggrey (her father) wrote that she found in her mother's belongings.
His diary chronicled the racism he was confronted with especially in the 1970s political climate in London. Anna Bain discovers that he eventually became the president � some would say, dictator � of a small nation in West Africa. At 48 years old, she found out that her father is still alive.
She's in the process of applying for a divorce from her husband Robert who had an affair with another woman. Yet, Anna is torn about whether to go forward with her divorce from Robert or to remain married. They still cared for each other, but Anna questions whether they should reconcile or not. Anna felt the stings of racism especially when some people thought she was the nanny of her daughter Rose (who looked white). She struggles with her racial identity, her heritage, and where she belongs.
She decides to go in search of her father (who is now known as Kofi Adjei) and discovers he is the first Prime Minister to Bamana. She travels with Adrian, an academic who knew her father and once wrote a book about him. Adrian arranges a meeting so that Anna could meet her father, but he does not tell her father who he was bringing with him. During the arranged dinner at her father's house with Adrian, her father asked her what was she doing in Bamana. He did not know she was his daughter. When she told him why he denied that was her father and told her and Adrian to leave his house immediately.
Feeling disappointed and that the trip was a waste of time, she prepared to return home. Before she was able to leave, one of her father's servants came to her hotel with a message from him asking her to stay. Although a little reluctant, she stayed and was taken to her father's village home, a different place from where she went for dinner. This was confusing to her but after arriving at his house, he revealed that he had a DNA test done from the items she ate and drank from when she came to his house the day before. Sure enough, the tests revealed that she was indeed his daughter, his oldest child.
Anna encountered people who kept referring to her as Obroni, meaning a white person or half-caste. A lot of tension arose between Anna and Kofi. He told her she didn't understand their customs after they disagreed on several social and ethical issues. Anna was too direct and confrontational with Kofi, especially since his other children never tried to debate with him. When Anna tried to catch her flight back to London again, she was detained and thrown in jail, being accused of being a spy. She later found out that her father was behind her mistreatment. But she discovered that she actually had power over this powerful man.
He told her the story about a mythical bird they had there called Sankofa. It flies forward while its head is looking backward with an egg (symbolizing the future) in its mouth. It's a poetic image that cannot work in real life. Sankofa is based on an African proverb "You can't know where you're going unless you know where you came from." Kofi took her to see Amma, a spiritual guide in the bush. Amma took Anna through her initiation rights. Although she was a woman, she was not a woman of the Bamanian culture. In Bermanian, Anna's name was Nana. Nana means queen.
This was truly a good read y'all.
April 13, 2021
Sankofa is centred around Anna Bain, born of an 1960s affair between a young Welsh woman in London and Francis Aggrey a student from the (semi-fictional - see below) West African country of Bamana. Growing up, she never knew her father, and he knew nothing of her existence.
We follow Anna in her 50s, where the death of her mother and separation from her husband leave Anna facing something of a mid-life crisis. The discovery of a long-lost diary kindles her interest in her father, and Anna decides to seek him out. She quickly finds out that Francis had gone on to become a independence fighter, prisoner and then President of Bamana. Along the way he dropped his Anglicised name and became Kofi Adjei. And according to many, became a brutal dictator, though the reality may be more complicated.
The story gives the author, Chibundu Onuzo, space to raise a lot of issues - race and racism in 1960s' London and more recently, personal change, white saviourism, colonial violence, governance and politics in post-colonial Africa. These are all explored with admirable subtlety and insight, with no glib conclusions offered, and without weighing down the story in dense philosophical debates. We're _shown_ the issues, not preached to, either by the author or any of the protagonists.
The prose is clear and engaging, the characters well-rounded and real, the plot believable and interesting. The result is a fascinating tale, and wonderful book.
One final point worth mentioning is the intriguing decisions Onuzo makes when it comes to fictionalising the locations. Bamana is not a real country, but it was an empire in past centuries, in part of what is now Mali. The real Empire's capital was the city of Segou, the fictional country's is Segu. Other details are changed, however: in the book, Bamana is a coastal nation, and a former British colony, neither or which applies to 18th-19th century Bamana. The names are drawn from a wide African pool, though with a particular Ghanaian flavour. The real-world city of Gbadolite, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, appears in the novel within Bamana, as Adjei's playground rather than Mobuto's. There are also similarly intriguing nods to classics of African literature - Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease. I did not manage to unpick any alternative meanings in this, though there may well be symbolism and allusions that eluded me. If nothing else, however, it helped create a plausibility and reality in the fiction that worked very well.
- - -
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.
We follow Anna in her 50s, where the death of her mother and separation from her husband leave Anna facing something of a mid-life crisis. The discovery of a long-lost diary kindles her interest in her father, and Anna decides to seek him out. She quickly finds out that Francis had gone on to become a independence fighter, prisoner and then President of Bamana. Along the way he dropped his Anglicised name and became Kofi Adjei. And according to many, became a brutal dictator, though the reality may be more complicated.
The story gives the author, Chibundu Onuzo, space to raise a lot of issues - race and racism in 1960s' London and more recently, personal change, white saviourism, colonial violence, governance and politics in post-colonial Africa. These are all explored with admirable subtlety and insight, with no glib conclusions offered, and without weighing down the story in dense philosophical debates. We're _shown_ the issues, not preached to, either by the author or any of the protagonists.
The prose is clear and engaging, the characters well-rounded and real, the plot believable and interesting. The result is a fascinating tale, and wonderful book.
One final point worth mentioning is the intriguing decisions Onuzo makes when it comes to fictionalising the locations. Bamana is not a real country, but it was an empire in past centuries, in part of what is now Mali. The real Empire's capital was the city of Segou, the fictional country's is Segu. Other details are changed, however: in the book, Bamana is a coastal nation, and a former British colony, neither or which applies to 18th-19th century Bamana. The names are drawn from a wide African pool, though with a particular Ghanaian flavour. The real-world city of Gbadolite, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, appears in the novel within Bamana, as Adjei's playground rather than Mobuto's. There are also similarly intriguing nods to classics of African literature - Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease. I did not manage to unpick any alternative meanings in this, though there may well be symbolism and allusions that eluded me. If nothing else, however, it helped create a plausibility and reality in the fiction that worked very well.
- - -
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.
May 8, 2022
I really enjoyed this. I have a bit of a weakness for a surprise child plot so this really appealed, although it was much more than that. Anna’s character really resonated with me. I listened to the audiobook which was excellent.
I prefer a book to end with loose ends tied up so the ending in this felt a bit half arsed to me but that would be my only criticism.
Complete story, recommended. 4.5 stars
I prefer a book to end with loose ends tied up so the ending in this felt a bit half arsed to me but that would be my only criticism.
Complete story, recommended. 4.5 stars
December 12, 2022
At Michaela's request, I finished the most recent book in the ever-growing diaspora return subgenre!
Sankofa is told between two main settings: modern-day England, and the fictionalized West African country of Bamana. The novel focuses on the evolution of the protagonist's long-lost father, who turns out to be the decades-long president of the country. I personally was pleased that Chibundu Onuzo had the sense to make Francis/Kofi a composite of leaders from several different countries. This allowed the novel to have a lot more legroom to experiment, and allowed the readers with a lot more room to suspend our disbelief. Some of the other authors in this subgenre should take note, because their books are coming across as well-researched fan fiction about "Africa's Sexiest Dictators" (American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson, I am looking at you!)
Overall, I have a really hard time reviewing this book with a star rating, because while it was smarter than American Spy, Sankofa ultimately reaches the same unfortunate conclusion of not having anything interesting to say about the topics at hand (read: pan-Africanism, revolution, socialism, and how the US and UK frequently destabilize all these things!) Many of these texts suffer from an urge to describe the violence" of an oppressed nation, without having any understanding of the incalculable violence of empire and settler colonial states. The ultimate end result is that it seems like they're saying "well my home country of Great Britain wasn't good, but neither was my dad the dictator!!" There is not enough attention paid to who benefits from these false equivalencies, and the subgenre is failing to capitalize on its immense promise, as a result.
This is why I continue to have trouble with people writing books about topics they find interesting, and not topics they have any unique contributions to. The result is books that have beautiful writing, but shallow emotional cores. And I am weary of this trend!!!
I think the other reason I am so *meh* about this book is because most of it left me extremely bored.
Anna is annoying as a narrator and immature as a character. Like how are you 50 years old and still in your “too white for the black kids, too black for the white kids� era?!?!? BFFR!!!! In the latter chapters, I found myself wishing we had the absent siblings to ground the story. Unfortunately, Onuzo chooses to leave readers with polar opposite types of children, neither of which are enjoyable: 1. the nepotism babies whose stereotypical professions cement their loyalty to their father, and 2. the biracial "love child" who is chock full of elementary critiques about his political career. We deserved time with Kofi's reasonable children!!
To focus on a few positives, it seems like other reviewers found the end enjoyable, and maybe even a bit redeeming given the slower pace of other sections. Unsurprisingly, it fell flat for me, because as we've previously established, I don't have the range for magical realism. However, even I can recognize that the writing in that section was incredible, and it helped to tie together what could have been a disjointed final few pages. I do think Chibundu Onuzo did a fantastic job with the stylistic choices in this book! Allowing us to get to know Francis through his diary was a fascinating choice that could have gone either way. However, her tone and texture in the diary entries make them an enjoyable detour from Anna's narration. It's the best sort of "story within a story", the kind where you almost forget that the diary is not the actual book you are reading. I think this is just one example of Onuzo's clear talent as a writer, and I will say that I'm not opposed to reading a book from her in the future.
All in all, I continue to be interested in this subgenre, and do think this book makes some useful contributions to it! Let's hope that future entries continue to upward momentum. In terms of the near future: the next title on our subgenre buddy read list will be . I am very much looking forward to tackling this one in the new year, and will be back with my full thoughts! :)
***Other Subgenre Recommendations***
As we continue to flesh out the bounds of the diaspora return subgenre (alternate title: Black radical cosplay subgenre), I know that my reviews are likely to be very pessimistic (I remain a hater before anything else.) While it's helpful to my process to identify the negative characteristics that unite books in the genre, I do also want to save some time to highlight some of the things that these books get "right." With that in mind, I want to recommend two books in/adjacent to the subgenre that have a stronger power analysis, and have a bit more in terms of a unique opinion from the author.
1. by Aya de León
Michaela and I are in agreement that this diaspora return subgenre can include books that are set in the US, as long as these books engage with how the West attempts to destabilize and infiltrate revolutionary, pan-African, and/or socialist movements led by Black people. Aya de León does an admirable job of showing this destabilization process in this book, especially since we originally thought it would be a romance novel. I think American Spy would have been much easier to stomach if it had similar lack of pretension about being a "prestige novel."
This US-centric contribution to the subgenre also relates to the theories that Black communities are oppressed "nations" of their own within the imperial core. Holloway, the fictional California town where A Spy in The Struggle is set, is supposed to be a cross between Richmond and Oakland, and the parallels to Onuzo's Bamana are easy to see.
2. by Xóchitl González
This is perhaps a more abnormal recommendation, since a core element of the subgenre is that the book focus on Black characters/communities. Despite most of the characters (and the author!) not being Black, I think this book is at least in conversation with the subgenre. While I rolled my eyes at parts of this book (particularly a white Latinx author's obsession with sharing the skin tone of each character), there are some compelling moral themes in Olga Dies Dreaming. I really enjoyed Gonzalez's ruminations on how some peoples' political choices can deeply sever their bonds with children, even as they are fighting for a better future for all oppressed children. Even when the book veered into those pesky moral equivalencies, I still found it to be refreshing. We love an author who actually has something new/interesting to say about the topics of their work!!
Sankofa is told between two main settings: modern-day England, and the fictionalized West African country of Bamana. The novel focuses on the evolution of the protagonist's long-lost father, who turns out to be the decades-long president of the country. I personally was pleased that Chibundu Onuzo had the sense to make Francis/Kofi a composite of leaders from several different countries. This allowed the novel to have a lot more legroom to experiment, and allowed the readers with a lot more room to suspend our disbelief. Some of the other authors in this subgenre should take note, because their books are coming across as well-researched fan fiction about "Africa's Sexiest Dictators" (American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson, I am looking at you!)
Overall, I have a really hard time reviewing this book with a star rating, because while it was smarter than American Spy, Sankofa ultimately reaches the same unfortunate conclusion of not having anything interesting to say about the topics at hand (read: pan-Africanism, revolution, socialism, and how the US and UK frequently destabilize all these things!) Many of these texts suffer from an urge to describe the violence" of an oppressed nation, without having any understanding of the incalculable violence of empire and settler colonial states. The ultimate end result is that it seems like they're saying "well my home country of Great Britain wasn't good, but neither was my dad the dictator!!" There is not enough attention paid to who benefits from these false equivalencies, and the subgenre is failing to capitalize on its immense promise, as a result.
This is why I continue to have trouble with people writing books about topics they find interesting, and not topics they have any unique contributions to. The result is books that have beautiful writing, but shallow emotional cores. And I am weary of this trend!!!
I think the other reason I am so *meh* about this book is because most of it left me extremely bored.
Anna is annoying as a narrator and immature as a character. Like how are you 50 years old and still in your “too white for the black kids, too black for the white kids� era?!?!? BFFR!!!! In the latter chapters, I found myself wishing we had the absent siblings to ground the story. Unfortunately, Onuzo chooses to leave readers with polar opposite types of children, neither of which are enjoyable: 1. the nepotism babies whose stereotypical professions cement their loyalty to their father, and 2. the biracial "love child" who is chock full of elementary critiques about his political career. We deserved time with Kofi's reasonable children!!
To focus on a few positives, it seems like other reviewers found the end enjoyable, and maybe even a bit redeeming given the slower pace of other sections. Unsurprisingly, it fell flat for me, because as we've previously established, I don't have the range for magical realism. However, even I can recognize that the writing in that section was incredible, and it helped to tie together what could have been a disjointed final few pages. I do think Chibundu Onuzo did a fantastic job with the stylistic choices in this book! Allowing us to get to know Francis through his diary was a fascinating choice that could have gone either way. However, her tone and texture in the diary entries make them an enjoyable detour from Anna's narration. It's the best sort of "story within a story", the kind where you almost forget that the diary is not the actual book you are reading. I think this is just one example of Onuzo's clear talent as a writer, and I will say that I'm not opposed to reading a book from her in the future.
All in all, I continue to be interested in this subgenre, and do think this book makes some useful contributions to it! Let's hope that future entries continue to upward momentum. In terms of the near future: the next title on our subgenre buddy read list will be . I am very much looking forward to tackling this one in the new year, and will be back with my full thoughts! :)
***Other Subgenre Recommendations***
As we continue to flesh out the bounds of the diaspora return subgenre (alternate title: Black radical cosplay subgenre), I know that my reviews are likely to be very pessimistic (I remain a hater before anything else.) While it's helpful to my process to identify the negative characteristics that unite books in the genre, I do also want to save some time to highlight some of the things that these books get "right." With that in mind, I want to recommend two books in/adjacent to the subgenre that have a stronger power analysis, and have a bit more in terms of a unique opinion from the author.
1. by Aya de León
Michaela and I are in agreement that this diaspora return subgenre can include books that are set in the US, as long as these books engage with how the West attempts to destabilize and infiltrate revolutionary, pan-African, and/or socialist movements led by Black people. Aya de León does an admirable job of showing this destabilization process in this book, especially since we originally thought it would be a romance novel. I think American Spy would have been much easier to stomach if it had similar lack of pretension about being a "prestige novel."
This US-centric contribution to the subgenre also relates to the theories that Black communities are oppressed "nations" of their own within the imperial core. Holloway, the fictional California town where A Spy in The Struggle is set, is supposed to be a cross between Richmond and Oakland, and the parallels to Onuzo's Bamana are easy to see.
2. by Xóchitl González
This is perhaps a more abnormal recommendation, since a core element of the subgenre is that the book focus on Black characters/communities. Despite most of the characters (and the author!) not being Black, I think this book is at least in conversation with the subgenre. While I rolled my eyes at parts of this book (particularly a white Latinx author's obsession with sharing the skin tone of each character), there are some compelling moral themes in Olga Dies Dreaming. I really enjoyed Gonzalez's ruminations on how some peoples' political choices can deeply sever their bonds with children, even as they are fighting for a better future for all oppressed children. Even when the book veered into those pesky moral equivalencies, I still found it to be refreshing. We love an author who actually has something new/interesting to say about the topics of their work!!
November 11, 2021
I thought this was going to be like 'What A Girl Wants' but a book with a British person going to seek out their African father and oh boy was I wrong.
remember this movie? if not, please go watch it. iconic.
Anyway, the protagonist is definitely not Amanda Bynes-esque. In fact, she's in her 40s, has a daughter, recently separated from her husband and recently lost her mum. She finds a diary of her father that she never knew and find outs that he's an ex dictator of a (fictional) African country - Bamana.
I loved the descriptions of the book and thought it was very well written. However, my main issue was with how passive almost the main character was. She wasn't at times, but also she didn't feel fully fleshed out. I also almost just found myself wishing there was more to the story and we could know what happened post the end of the book - which is a good thing but also a bit unsatisfactory. I do hope the author does a Part 2 of this book.
Overall though, I enjoyed my experience. I enjoyed getting to know this country and the man behind it through the eyes of his daughter and question if he was a good guy ultimately or not so great. Everyone has their grays I guess.
But anyway, I liked it and would definitely recommend the audiobook as well if you get hold of it. 4.5 stars.
remember this movie? if not, please go watch it. iconic.
Anyway, the protagonist is definitely not Amanda Bynes-esque. In fact, she's in her 40s, has a daughter, recently separated from her husband and recently lost her mum. She finds a diary of her father that she never knew and find outs that he's an ex dictator of a (fictional) African country - Bamana.
I loved the descriptions of the book and thought it was very well written. However, my main issue was with how passive almost the main character was. She wasn't at times, but also she didn't feel fully fleshed out. I also almost just found myself wishing there was more to the story and we could know what happened post the end of the book - which is a good thing but also a bit unsatisfactory. I do hope the author does a Part 2 of this book.
Overall though, I enjoyed my experience. I enjoyed getting to know this country and the man behind it through the eyes of his daughter and question if he was a good guy ultimately or not so great. Everyone has their grays I guess.
But anyway, I liked it and would definitely recommend the audiobook as well if you get hold of it. 4.5 stars.
October 30, 2021
None of the characters in this recent Resse pick were engaging. The story and the characters were dull and lifeless. I understand the concept of the book-but felt it was poorly executed.
February 22, 2022
Chibundu Onuzo takes me to unexpected places and pretty much always makes me glad to arrive there—even if "there" wasn't the destination I originally had in mind. I loved Sankofa the moment I began reading, and anticipated a book that would continue to offer me exactly what the first chapters did: sharp, articulate criticism of racism in 1970s London and a quieter reflection on relationships across time and culture. These elements remained throughout the book, but were gradually overtaken by a much more biting examination of life in post-colonial Africa.
Onuzo sets the later half of the book in the nation of Bamana, also referred to as the Diamond Coast. Bamana actually was an African state, established in the mid-17th Century and overthrown in the second half of the 19th Century. It was located in what is now the nation of Mali. This existence/nonexistence works well, allowing Onuzo to explore more recent African politics without the constraints of fitting into the history of a particular contemporary state.
The central character, Anna, is the daughter of a young British woman and an African father who boarded in her home while studying in Britain. Her father left at the end of a year of studies before her mother realized she was pregnant, and Anna's mother chose to raise her as a single parent. As the Black daughter of a white mother, Anna grew up aware of the way race shapes the way others perceive her, but her mother refused to acknowledge the role of race in any of Anna's experiences.
After her mother's death, Anna finds a journal that belonged to her father, written while he was in England, gradually becoming active in revolutionary circles. Her father, as he appears in this journal, is a thoughtful man, carrying the substantial weight of his identity and reflecting constantly on questions of identity, politics, and ethics.
After some research, Anna discovers that a) her father is still living and b) that he spent more than 30 years as the ruler of post-colonial Bamana, elected democratically, but becoming increasingly authoritarian. He may have been responsible for the deaths of student protestors. He brought wealth to parts of post-colonial Bamana, but that wealth was held within a limited number of individuals while the rest of the nation continued a "traditional" life—perhaps close to genuine tradition in more isolated areas, but that sort of poverty-as-tradition in more urban areas.
Yes, Anna travels to Bamana. Yes, she meets her father and many half siblings. Her relations with this family that is just meeting her are complicated, varied, and at times disturbing. This is the material that occupies the second half of the novel.
Because I had mapped out my own version of this story as I read the earlier parts, I was unsettled by its second half—but the reader gets to read what is written; it's the writer who does the writing. The story Onuzo has crafted is well worth reading. Traveling the path she carves out with her words was a voyage I hadn't anticipated that I found engaging.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
Onuzo sets the later half of the book in the nation of Bamana, also referred to as the Diamond Coast. Bamana actually was an African state, established in the mid-17th Century and overthrown in the second half of the 19th Century. It was located in what is now the nation of Mali. This existence/nonexistence works well, allowing Onuzo to explore more recent African politics without the constraints of fitting into the history of a particular contemporary state.
The central character, Anna, is the daughter of a young British woman and an African father who boarded in her home while studying in Britain. Her father left at the end of a year of studies before her mother realized she was pregnant, and Anna's mother chose to raise her as a single parent. As the Black daughter of a white mother, Anna grew up aware of the way race shapes the way others perceive her, but her mother refused to acknowledge the role of race in any of Anna's experiences.
After her mother's death, Anna finds a journal that belonged to her father, written while he was in England, gradually becoming active in revolutionary circles. Her father, as he appears in this journal, is a thoughtful man, carrying the substantial weight of his identity and reflecting constantly on questions of identity, politics, and ethics.
After some research, Anna discovers that a) her father is still living and b) that he spent more than 30 years as the ruler of post-colonial Bamana, elected democratically, but becoming increasingly authoritarian. He may have been responsible for the deaths of student protestors. He brought wealth to parts of post-colonial Bamana, but that wealth was held within a limited number of individuals while the rest of the nation continued a "traditional" life—perhaps close to genuine tradition in more isolated areas, but that sort of poverty-as-tradition in more urban areas.
Yes, Anna travels to Bamana. Yes, she meets her father and many half siblings. Her relations with this family that is just meeting her are complicated, varied, and at times disturbing. This is the material that occupies the second half of the novel.
Because I had mapped out my own version of this story as I read the earlier parts, I was unsettled by its second half—but the reader gets to read what is written; it's the writer who does the writing. The story Onuzo has crafted is well worth reading. Traveling the path she carves out with her words was a voyage I hadn't anticipated that I found engaging.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
May 3, 2022
I loved reading this for book club! There was lots to discuss. I enjoyed the writing: there were so many good lines. Also an interesting plot that had me turning pages. The first half felt like literary fiction for people who enjoy mysteries. The second half had a dramatic shift. I particularly enjoyed this book for its exploration of identity, and the book club discussion added more layers to my understanding of the book in this regard. The main characters felt multidimensional and complicated. The side characters felt more like they were in service of the story. While I love a complicated and fleshed out character, this balance worked for me, presumably because I enjoyed the story so much.
February 7, 2022
3.5 - just a little flat at the end.
October 26, 2021
Title: Sankofa
Author: Chibundu Onuzo
Book # 102-2021
Start/Finish: 10/24 - 10/25
Rating: 3.5
Setting: London & West Africa
Length: 304 pgs ; 29 chapters
Published: 10/2021
Stand Alone -
Reeses October 2021 BOTM
Very interesting story. I liked it a little more than just 3 stars, more like 3.5 so I rounded up.
My husband would say, why visit the country we've already been there with this book. Just roll my eyes, his excuse for not traveling.
Anna is a very likable character. Not cray about her cheating husbands nor her selfish daughter. It seemed that her life was boring, going day to day doing nothing. I would have liked to had a little more info on the inbreed husband and the daughters with the eating disorder.
I would be scared to death to go on my own, but can I say she went on her own, not really. It is still a big step to take to go to a country you have never been looking for someone you have never met and pray that they believe you. What could happen in a third world country that is corrupt. Pray you make it back home.
Author: Chibundu Onuzo
Book # 102-2021
Start/Finish: 10/24 - 10/25
Rating: 3.5
Setting: London & West Africa
Length: 304 pgs ; 29 chapters
Published: 10/2021
Stand Alone -
Reeses October 2021 BOTM
Very interesting story. I liked it a little more than just 3 stars, more like 3.5 so I rounded up.
My husband would say, why visit the country we've already been there with this book. Just roll my eyes, his excuse for not traveling.
Anna is a very likable character. Not cray about her cheating husbands nor her selfish daughter. It seemed that her life was boring, going day to day doing nothing. I would have liked to had a little more info on the inbreed husband and the daughters with the eating disorder.
I would be scared to death to go on my own, but can I say she went on her own, not really. It is still a big step to take to go to a country you have never been looking for someone you have never met and pray that they believe you. What could happen in a third world country that is corrupt. Pray you make it back home.
January 3, 2022
This account of a woman's search for her identity started strong, but seemed to dwindle down. While I was intrigued by Anna's search for her roots, I found the ultimate answers unbelievable and cliched.
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