NOV. 14, 2023

MARY-ALICE DANIEL’S FAMILY FLED TO ENGLAND WHEN SHE WAS A CHILD, UPROOTING FROM THEIR NATIVE LAND, THE NIGERIAN SAHEL.

FIVE FOREIGNERS ENTER A COLD ENVIRONMENT WITH FEW FAMILIAR FEATURES. SO BEGINS THEIR CHAOTIC COURSE ACROSS THREE CONTINENTS SEEKING SPACES OF BELONGING—ANYTHING OF HOME.

WITH A DEEPLY INTIMATE LENS, THE ‘AMERICAN-AFRICAN’ AUTHOR PEERS INSIDE HER CURIOUS HERITAGE OF CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM, & MAGIC. NOMADIC NARRATIVES INVOKE THE REAL & REIMAGINED, UNRAVELING UNEASY ORIGINS.

  • "An absolutely fascinating work from a gifted storyteller."

    — KIRKUS REVIEWS, STARRED REVIEW & BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF 2022

  • "A melodious exploration of Nigeria… a breathtaking story of tracing history and finding home."

    — PEOPLE, BOOK OF THE WEEK

  • "Read this book once for the furious beauty... Read it again for a master class in how we might finally come to tell our stories on our own terms."

    — THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

  • "An incandescent debut... This is a gem."

    — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, STARRED REVIEW

  • "Daniel turns her poetic sensibilities onto herself… navigating competing identities until she comes into her own."

    — BOOKLIST, STARRED REVIEW

  • "You read a sentence out loud just so your mouth can feel its sounds. Make room on your bookshelves: a new voice has arrived."

    — ANNE FADIMAN, AUTHOR OF THE SPIRIT CATCHES YOU AND YOU FALL DOWN

  • "If sentence writing were an Olympic sport, Mary-Alice Daniel would be Usain Bolt."

    — WASHINGTON INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF BOOKS

  • "One can’t help but by overwhelmed by the exquisiteness of her prose..."

    — THE NEW YORK JOURNAL OF BOOKS

  • "In places it brings to mind the best writings of Jhumpa Lahiri. Mary-Alice is a major talent to watch."

    — HELON HABILA, AUTHOR OF TRAVELERS & THE CHIBOK GIRLS

  • "A rare work... With so many miles to her name, Daniel is a master of place and mood."

    — SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

  • "Passages on every other page are highlighted for profound statements, funny anecdotes, or sentences too beautiful not to acknowledge."

    — ELECTRIC LITERATURE

  • "Mary-Alice Daniel makes her journey through lands and landmines poignant and instructive. As she writes so eloquently, she is 'a poet of place.'"

    — “GOOD MORNING AMERICA”

  • "Gives hope to all Black diaspora people who want to take their culture to new places to call home."

    — BOOK RIOT, “15 OF THE BEST NIGERIAN BOOKS”

  • "Breathtaking... as gorgeously written as it thought-provoking."

    — REAL SIMPLE

  • "A moving and kaleidoscopic debut... Daniel is a masterful storyteller."

    — MS. MAGAZINE

  • "A powerful debut from a brilliant and gifted writer."

    — CHRIS ABANI, AUTHOR OF THE SECRET HISTORY OF LAS VEGAS & SMOKING THE BIBLE