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.
BIO
Born in Bristol and raised in Lagos, Nikki May is Anglo-Nigerian. Her critically acclaimed debut novel Wahala won the Comedy Women In Print New Voice Prize, was longlisted for the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award and the Diverse Books Award, and is being turned into a major BBC TV drama series. Nikki lives in Dorset with her husband, two standard Schnauzers and way too many books. She should be working on her next book but is probably reading.
REVIEWS
"A spirited exploration of culture and kinship -- of how we belong, and to whom." — Bonnie Garmus, New York Times bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry
"A vibrant coming-of-age story that explores loss, longing, and belonging in a multicultural family. I never stopped believing in the bond between troubled cousins Funke and Liv, despite their cultural differences. This Motherless Land paints a memorable picture of a British-Nigerian girl struggling with loss and identity amid two cultures." — Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake
“A gripping and poignant family saga that illuminates the lasting bond between two extraordinary cousins. I was completely immersed in this entrancing story.” — Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest
[H] Mariner Books / October 29, 2024
1.13" H x 9.27" L x 6.31" W (1.02 lbs) 352 pages