The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney - Hardcover

Nzelu, Okechukwu

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0349701059 ISBN 13: 9780349701059

Publisher: Dialogue Books, 2019

Synopsis

'A magnificent novel, full of wit, warmth and tenderness' Andrew McMillan

'Smart, serious and entertaining' Bernardine Evaristo

How do you begin to find yourself when you only know half of who you are?

As Nnenna Maloney approaches womanhood she longs to connect with her Igbo-Nigerian culture. Her once close and tender relationship with her mother, Joanie, becomes strained as Nnenna begins to ask probing questions about her father, who Joanie refuses to discuss.

Nnenna is asking big questions of how to 'be' when she doesn't know the whole of who she is. Meanwhile, Joanie wonders how to love when she has never truly been loved. Their lives are filled with a cast of characters asking similar questions about identity and belonging whilst grappling with the often hilarious encounters of everyday Manchester.

Okechukwu Nzelu brings us a funny and heart-warming story that covers the expanse of race, gender, class, family and redemption, with a fresh and distinctive new voice. Perfect for fans of Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams and Zadie Smith's White Teeth.

'Effortlessly capture[s] the tricky nuance of life, love, race, sexuality and familial relationships' Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie

'Edifying and hilarious, The Private of Joys of Nnenna Maloney is a beautiful debut that you won't want to put down' Derek Owusu

About this title

Review

A magnificent novel, full of wit, warmth and tenderness; Nzelu shows us that fully becoming who we are is a lifelong journey and that identity, of the self, of family and of a community, is infinitely complex (Andrew McMillan)

Okechukwu writes with confidence, wit and humour. Unforgettable characters and a voice that stays with you even after the final page. Edifying and hilarious, The Private of Joys of Nnenna Maloney is a beautiful debut that you won't want to put down (Derek Owusu, writer, poet and podcaster)

Okechukwu Nzelu has effortlessly captured the tricky nuance of life, love, race, sexuality and familial relationships . . . I haven't been able to put it down (Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie)

Nzelu writes with a witty confidence rarely seen in debut fiction. Smart, serious and entertaining, I expect this book to have wide appeal and for this writer to go far (Bernardine Evaristo, author of Booker-shortlisted novel Girl, Woman, Other)

[An] effervescent depiction of race and sexuality in 21st-century Britain. Nzelu is a delightfully generous writer and treats the conflicts of his characters with equal sympathy but he is best of all on the multiple subtle ways in which the most well-intentioned straight white people use sexuality and race to 'other' even their closest friends. He's also very funny . . . zesty social comedy that skewers religious, racial and sexual prejudice with a light touch (Metro)

Witty narrative . . . [a] well-written tale (Financial Times)

This debut is the big-hearted story of a half-Nigerian teenager growing up in Manchester, desperate to find out the truth about her Igbo heritage (iNews)

Book Description

A hilarious and heart-warming novel set in Manchester about a half-Nigerian teenager searching for the answer to that essential question: Who am I? Perfect for fans of Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams and Zadie Smith's White Teeth.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dialogue Books
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0349701059
• ISBN 13: 9780349701059
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320