Castles from Cobwebs: Longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize by J.A. Mensah (E

Description: Castles from Cobwebs by J.A. Mensah Longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize, Castles from Cobwebs follows one girls transition from youthful innocence to understanding as she navigates questions about family, identity and race. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and named among the 50 most notablenew books from Africa, Castles from Cobwebs follows one girls transition fromyouthful innocence to understanding as she navigates questions about family,identity, and race."Id always known that I was Brown. Black was different though; it came announced. Black came with expectations, of rhythm and other things that might trip me up."Imani is a foundling. Rescued as a baby and raised by nuns on a remote Northumbrian island, she grows up with an ever-increasing feeling of displacement. Full of questions, Imani turns to her shadow, Amarie, and her friend Harold. When Harold cant find the answers, she puts it down to what the nuns call her "greater purpose".At nineteen, Imani answers a phone call that will change her life: she is being called to Ghana after the sudden death of her biological mother.Past, present, faith and reality are spun together in this enthralling debut. Following her transition from innocence to understanding, Imanis experience illuminates the stories we all tell to make ourselves whole. Author Biography J.A. Mensah is a writer of prose and theatre and a lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of York, England. Her plays have focused on human rights narratives and the testimonies of survivors. Her short stories appear in several collections. Castles from Cobwebs, her first novel, won the inaugural NorthBound Book Award and was nominated for the Desmond Elliott Award. Review From start to finish, I was spellbound by the characters (especially Imani), the narrative voice, and the vivid imagery. Mensah intricately weaves complex characters, vivid descriptions, universal topics of love, loss, identity, religion, with themes like the search for a place to belong, into a well spun tapestry, a mind-spinning tale, a heart-pounding novel – and Im hooked. I absolutely love this book. * Yvonne Battle-Felton, author of Remembered, longlisted for the Womens Prize 2019 *Real beauty and clarity in the prose … powerful and unique. * Chitra Ramaswamy *A compelling exploration of memory, race, mothers and the fractured self, Mensah questions the frameworks through which we understand the world and interrogates how to put disparate parts of our identities together to become the most true version of ourselves. * Jessica Andrews, author of Saltwater, winner of the Portico Prize 2020 *[An] extraordinary debut … changes with every reading, like the sea, deep and light, or the flicker of spidersilk … a book to be cherished and shared. * Vahni Capildeo *Lyrical and magical … a powerful and very readable novel. * Louise Maskill *Mensah doesnt shy away from tough subjects … a well-crafted debut … an extraordinary literary talent and … a thoroughly recommended read. -- Emma Yates-Badley * Northern Soul *A strong debut. * The Feminist Nook *Brilliance and beauty … The writing is exquisite, the plot is thoughtful and complex, and the characters are deeply lovable. This story will be told like folklore, passed on from person to person. And this is me passing it onto you. * Kate Baguley *A sensitive ear for language and observational detail … offers a unique blend of magical realism and social commentary – the past and the present intermingle with colonial history, displacement and family ties to form a rich narrative tapestry. -- Reshma Ruia * Words of Colour *Strong storytelling crafted from a fine delicate web of themes … wonderfully vivid. * Busy Mama Book Club *In … Castles from Cobwebs, we gain insight into how identity is not necessarily set in stone, nor is it straightforward or well defined. But rather how it can be complex, ever evolving and and simultaneously painful yet liberating to piece together. * Blackbooksandnotes *A stunning debut … immersive and captivating … all the threads come together to form the perfect cobweb. * Literary Lucie blog * Review Quote "Mensahs prose is gorgeous and lyrical, conjuring crystalline images ... Strong women abound ... Mensahs storytelling skills make for an atmospheric, poignant, and bold novel that explores uncharted territory." Foreword Reviews, May/June 2022, Starred review "From start to finish, I was spellbound.... Mensah intricately weaves complex characters, vivid descriptions, universal topics of love, loss, identity, religion, with themes like the search for a place to belong, into a well spun tapestry, a mind-spinning tale, a heart-pounding novel--and Im hooked. I absolutely love this book." Yvonne Battle-Felton, author of Remembered , nominated for the Womens Prize 2019 "Real beauty and clarity in the prose ... powerful and unique." Chitra Ramaswamy, winner of the debuts prize at Scotlands National Book Awards and columnist at the Guardian "A compelling exploration of memory, race, mothers and the fractured self, Mensah ... interrogates how to put disparate parts of our identities together to become the most true version of ourselves." Jessica Andrews, author of Saltwater , winner of the Portico Prize 2020 "Mensah doesnt shy away from tough subjects ... a well-crafted debut ... an extraordinary literary talent and ... a thoroughly recommended read." Northern Soul magazine Feature Crossing continents--from England and Ghana to Upstate New York: A spell-binding story that navigates questions about family, culture, and racial identity. Winner of the NorthBound Book Award and nominated for the prestigious UK Desmond Elliott Award for a first novel, previously won by Gail Honeyman and Kit de Waal . The author has been invited to participate at the Chamb Excerpt from Book Chickens cluck and gossip nearby. A car honks in the distance. Someone, somewhere, shouts a greeting. Wheels screech, several of them, successively. I wait for the crash: it doesnt come. Voices rise in a confused, or angry, chorus. A group of children chant a playground anthem. They clap and stamp in sync. I cant make out the words. The soft lap of a skipping rope beats the ground repeatedly. Something hits the window. A ball? I dont move to see. Soupy air rests on my skin and the sun through the blinds crosses my cheek with a lick of dry heat that is surprisingly refreshing; the crisp light soothes against the cloying humidity. I open my eyes and close them. Open, then close. The ball hits the window again. Close eyes. Open. Close. I do that thing where your eyes are open behind closed lids. I watch the light filter through the skin that shields my gaze; the back of my eyelids glow ochre - Brown. Im Brown again. Id always known that I was Brown. I dont remember it being a discovery: putting my arm against Sister Alma and noticing the difference between us; paddling on the beach with Reverend Mother and realising the contrast in our reflections as they rippled in the stream. There was no one moment when I suddenly knew. Amarie was a blackish-grey and Mother was whiteish-pink. Amarie was spirit and Mother was flesh. I was Brown, somewhere between them, more flesh than Amarie and more spirit than Mother. They were my coordinates and I knew where I was rooted between them. Black was different, though; it came announced. It was the year the parish roof couldnt be repaired any more. There had been so many patch jobs done, it was like an old quilt, all threadbare and no good at blocking water. That autumn we had a ceilidh to raise money for a new roof and Mrs OShea from the village, Penelope-Maries mum, she told Sister Alma that I was a good dancer because all black people have rhythm. And there it was: suddenly I was Black. After that, there was a world outside with others who were Black like me and this hunger formed. Perhaps it had always been there, as a cloud maybe, but it hardened, became granite in the pit of me. Every time Harold found another morsel about Black from Yahoo, I savoured it. But Black also made me dizzy, like when youre little and you spin around, then in the middle of the spinning you realise you cant stop and stand still, and youll fall over if you try. Black came with expectations, of rhythm and other things that might trip me up. At Heathrow Airport, there were people of all colours and combinations. I saw a woman, Brown like me, with hair the colour of a postbox. A boy, paler than Sister Alma, with black hair down to his knees, silver chains hanging from his wrists, and blue and purple around his eyes. I watched them - ravenously. I wished Amarie was there to see it all. I prayed shed stop being so stubborn and appear. At Kotoka Airport, the faces were all kinds of Brown: chestnut, mahogany, oak, chocolate, terracotta, hazel, copper, gold, umber, rosewood, ebony, coffee, onyx, dusk. I knew it was you, Aunt Grace says, pulling me from the multitude flooding out of the airport. You have your mothers face exactly. Details ISBN1913393453 Author J.A. Mensah Pages 288 Language English Year 2022 ISBN-10 1913393453 ISBN-13 9781913393458 Format Paperback DEWEY 823.92 Publication Date 2022-03-10 UK Release Date 2022-03-10 Imprint Saraband Country of Publication United Kingdom NZ Release Date 2022-03-10 Publisher Saraband Place of Publication Glasgow Subtitle Longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize Audience General AU Release Date 2022-09-13 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:145102708;

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