First published 2014
Abie abandons her London life when a cousin offers her the family plantation in Rofathane, Sierra Leone. She returns to the West African village she left years ago, determined to restore the neglected coffee farm. Her four aunts, Asana, Mariama, Hawa, and Serah, become her guides to both the land and the buried family history. Through their stories, Abie learns how rivalries between chiefs and religious leaders shaped their community. She discovers tales of arranged marriages and manipulative unions that her aunts endured. Each woman reveals how she fought to control her own fate as their nation slipped toward chaos. The aunts show Abie what their people gained and lost as old traditions gave way to modern changes. Abie must decide whether she can truly reclaim this homeland or if some connections to the past cannot be restored.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, african-literature, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: London, Rofathane, Sierra Leone, West Africa
Period: 20th-century
340 pages · Kindle Edition · Grove Press