2022 Longlist

This debut novel tells the interwoven stories of twin sisters, Kehinde and Taiye, and their mother, Kambirinachi. Kambirinachi feels she was born an Ogbanje, a spirit that plagues families with misfortune by dying in childhood to cause its mother misery. She believes that she has made the unnatural choice of staying alive to love her human family and now lives in fear of the consequences of that decision.

Some of Kambirinachi’s worst fears come true when her daughter, Kehinde, experiences a devastating childhood trauma that causes the family to fracture in seemingly irreversible ways. As soon as she’s of age, Kehinde moves away and cuts contact with her twin sister and mother. Alone in Montreal, she struggles to find ways to heal while building a life of her own. Meanwhile, Taiye, plagued by guilt for what happened to her sister, flees to London and attempts to numb the loss of the relationship with her twin through reckless hedonism.

Now, after more than a decade of living apart, Taiye and Kehinde have returned home to Lagos to visit their mother. It is here that the three women must face each other and address the wounds of the past if they are to reconcile and move forward.

About the Author/Translator

Francesca Ekwuyasi is a writer and multidisciplinary artist from Lagos, Nigeria, whose work explores themes of faith, family, queerness, consumption, loneliness, and belonging. Her writing has been published in Winter Tangerine, Brittle Paper, Transition Magazine, the Malahat Review, Visual Arts News, Vol 1 Brooklyn, and Guts magazine. Her story “ Ọrun Is Heaven” was longlisted for the 2019 Journey Prize.

Librarian’s Comments

Lush, sensuous prose and a moving exploration of the bonds between a mother and her daughters. Winnipeg Public Library, Canada