Castles from Cobwebs

J.A. Mensah

From Shelf: Favourite books I read in 2021

Imani is a foundling. Raised by nuns on a Northumbrian Island, she grows up with an increasing sense of displacement. After the death of her biological mother, Imani travels to Ghana - beginning a journey of self-discovery that illuminates the stories we all tell to make ourselves whole.

'I'd always known that I was Brown. Black was different though; it came announced. Black came with expectations, of rhythm and other things that might trip me up.' Imani is a foundling. Rescued as a baby and raised by nuns on a remote Northumbrian island, she grows up with an ever-increasing feeling of displacement. Full of questions, Imani turns to her shadow, Amarie, and her friend, Harold. When Harold can't find the answers, she puts it down to what the nuns call her "greater purpose". At nineteen, Imani answers a phone call that will change her life: she is being called to Accra after the sudden death of her biological mother. Past, present, faith and reality are spun together in this enthralling debut. Following her transition from innocence to understanding, Imani's experience illuminates the stories we all tell to make ourselves whole.