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This Motherless Land
This Motherless Land | Nikki May
8 posts | 7 read | 14 to read
From the acclaimed author of Wahala, a "vibrant" (Charmaine Wilkerson) decolonial retelling of Mansfield Park, exploring identity, culture, race, and love. Quiet Funke is happy in Nigeria. She loves her art teacher mother, her professor father, and even her annoying little brother (most of the time). But when tragedy strikes, she's sent to England, a place she knows only from her mother's stories. To her dismay, she finds the much-lauded estate dilapidated, the food tasteless, the weather grey. Worse still, her mother's family are cold and distant. With one exception: her cousin Liv. Free-spirited Liv has always wanted to break free of her joyless family. She becomes fiercely protective of her little cousin, and her warmth and kindness give Funke a place to heal. The two girls grow into adulthood the closest of friends. But the choices their mothers made haunt Funke and Liv and when a second tragedy occurs their friendship is torn apart. Against the long shadow of their shared family history, each woman will struggle to chart a path forward, separated by country, misunderstanding, and ambition. Moving between Somerset and Lagos over the course of two decades, This Motherless Land is a sweeping examination of identity, culture, race, and love that asks how we find belonging and whether a family's generational wrongs can be righted.
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kezzlou85
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#12Booksof2024 Day 7: July.
This was a review book that caught my eye and I found the story fascinating.
@Andrew65

Andrew65 Sounds interesting. 3w
kezzlou85 @Andrew65 it was such an interesting read 3w
Andrew65 Happy New Year, I hope you have a happy and healthy 2025. 🥳🥳🥳 3w
38 likes3 comments
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Amiable
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Pickpick

Soft pick. This book is very black-and-white: the horrible characters are really horrible, and the good ones suffer nobly. In other words, it‘s very clear who you are supposed to hate and what you are supposed to think and feel and root for. Which also makes it very predictable (and I haven‘t even read “Mansfield Park,” of which this is apparently a retelling. So I didn‘t know the plot). I prefer more nuance in a book.

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Jen2
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Pickpick

Very good!

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Megabooks
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Pickpick

Another banger from Read with Jenna this Fall! (With my new bookends)

May writes of cousins - one in England the other in Nigeria, who are brought together by one tragedy and torn apart by another. I was super invested in these characters! I didn‘t care for May‘s debut, Wahala, but I‘m glad I gave her another shot!

BarbaraBB Great review. Sounds so good. Stacking! (edited) 2mo
AmyG I have really been enjoying the Jenna books lately. 2mo
Cathythoughts Stacked. 2mo
See All 7 Comments
Ruthiella I really like Wahala, though it sounds like it was not as deep as this one thematically. I will definitely give it a go. 2mo
Megabooks @barbaraBB @cathythoughts @ruthiella I think you'll all enjoy this one. This one was a lot deeper imo, and that worked for the better. 2mo
Megabooks @AmyG She really had a great year of picks -- especially the second half. It's my favorite celebrity book club. 2mo
AmyG It‘s become mine, too. 2mo
76 likes6 stack adds7 comments
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Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

I went into this one completely blind after enjoying Wahala and I‘m glad I did. I found it wholly absorbing and didn‘t want to stop listening. It explores upheaval, culture, race, greed and more. No sophomore slump for Nikki May!

LeeRHarry I loved this one - glad you enjoyed it too! 😊 2mo
38 likes1 stack add1 comment
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kezzlou85
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Pickpick

Wow this was so good. Its a retelling of Mansfield park which I have yet to read so was able to appreciate it for what it was rather than its link to the original. The story takes us from the past to the present and from England to Nigeria which just adds so much depth to the story. The plot was easy to follow and very well written. The details and emotions were so on point. A brilliant read. #Netgalley 4*

35 likes1 stack add