The human origins of Beatrice Porter and other essential ghosts

Sisters Zora and Sasha Porter are drifting apart. Bearing witness to their father’s violence and their mother’s worsening illness, an unsettled Zora escapes into her journal, dreaming of being a writer, while Sasha discovers sex and chest binding, spending more time with her new girlfriend than at home. But the sisters, like their parents, must come together to answer to beings greater than themselves and reckon with a family secret buried in the past.

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A Today Show Most Anticipated Book of 2023An Electric Literature Recommendation for 2023A Goodreads Buzziest Debut of 2023'A beautiful ode to the power of storytelling' Eleanor Shearer'A brilliant, compelling exploration of familial legacies. A mythic and edifying read' Irenosen Okojie, author of Speak GigantularGrowing up in Brooklyn with their Caribbean parents, Zora and Sasha Porter's days were enchanted by stories from the islands - the mischievous spider Anansi both seductive and vengeful; the flame-breathing Rolling Calf who haunts butchers; and ocean-dwelling Mama Dglo, said to be half snake, half human.Now they are teenagers, and life at home has become unbearable. Their parents' tempestuous relationship has fallen apart, their mother Beatrice desperately ill, their father Nigel living with another woman. While an unsettled Zora escapes into her journal, dreaming of being a writer, Sasha discovers sex and chest binding, spending more time with her new girlfriend than at home. But they can't hide forever. The Anansi Stories that captivated them as children begin to creep into the present, revealing truths about the Porter family's past they must all face up to.The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts is an extraordinary debut novel, a celebration of the power of stories that asks - what happens when ours are erased? Do we disappear? Or do we come back haunting?

Additional information

Weight 400 g
Dimensions 220 × 144 × 32 mm
Author

Publisher

Serpent's Tail

Imprint

Serpent's Tail

Cover

Hardback

Pages

288

Language

English

Edition

Hardback original

Dewey

813.6 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K