THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK Deeply moving Sarah Winman, author of Still Life Remarkable Afua Hirsch, author of Brit(ish) A sweeping epic Outstanding Daily Mail
Immerse yourself in a celebration of Black womanhood and an epic tale of the stories that span generations.
Ailey Pearl Garfield grows up between the City in the north and summers spent in her mothers small hometown of Chicasetta, Georgia. From an early age, she finds herself in a battle for belonging thats made all the more difficult by a hurt in her past, as well as the whispers of womenher mother, Belle, her sister, Lydia, and a maternal line reaching back two centuriesthat urge Ailey to succeed in their stead.
To come to terms with her identity, Ailey embarks on a journey through her familys past, uncovering the shocking tales of generations of ancestorsIndigenous, Black, and whitein the deep South. In doing so Ailey must learn to embrace her full heritage, a legacy of oppression and resistance, bondage and independence, cruelty and resilience that is the storyand the songof America itself.
Mesmerising magnificent Independent
Astonishing A great work infused with love and honesty Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple
Gripping, gorgeous. A sweeping family saga that is also history at its most intimate and vital Stef Penney, author of The Tenderness of Wolves
LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION SHORTLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE ASPEN LITERARY PRIZE
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