by Marlon James
First published 2022
Sogolon the Moon Witch has lived 177 years and remembers everything. She remembers searching for a missing boy across a mythical African landscape. She remembers clashing with Tracker, the hunter who became her enemy. Most of all, she remembers her century-long war with the Aesi, the king's chancellor whose power spreads like spider limbs through the kingdom. Now Sogolon speaks for herself. She reveals what really happened to the disappeared boy and why she fought so hard to find him. She explains how she plotted against the Aesi's deadly influence and why she refused to bow to any man's authority. Her account contradicts everything Tracker claimed. Through Sogolon's eyes, the same events take new shape. Her version exposes different truths about power, loyalty, and the price of resistance. This is the story of a woman who survived by her wits and magic, who challenged an empire and paid the cost.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, african-literature, fantasy
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Africa
Period: 20th-century
626 pages · Hardcover · Riverhead Books
Content warnings: violence