Sankofa: A Novel
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK | AN AMAZON BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
“A beautiful exploration of the often complex parameters of freedom, prejudice, and individual sense of self. Chibundu Onuzo has written a captivating story about a mixed-race British woman who goes in search of the West African father she never knew . . . [A] beautiful book about a woman brave enough to discover her true identity.” —Reese Witherspoon
“Onuzo’s sneakily breezy, highly entertaining novel leaves the reader rethinking familiar narratives of colonization, inheritance and liberation.” —The New York Times Book Review
Named a Best Book of the Month by Entertainment Weekly, Harper's Bazaar, and Time • Named a Most Anticipated Book of the Month by Goodreads, PopSugar, PureWow, LitHub, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and Buzzfeed
A woman wondering who she really is goes in search of a father she never knew—only to find something far more complicated than she ever expected—in this “stirring narrative about family, our capacity to change and the need to belong” (Time).
Anna is at a stage of her life when she's beginning to wonder who she really is. In her 40s, she has separated from her husband, her daughter is all grown up, and her mother—the only parent who raised her—is dead.
Searching through her mother's belongings one day, Anna finds clues about the African father she never knew. His student diaries chronicle his involvement in radical politics in 1970s London. Anna discovers that he eventually became the president—some would say dictator—of a small nation in West Africa. And he is still alive...
When Anna decides to track her father down, a journey begins that is disarmingly moving, funny, and fascinating. Like the metaphorical bird that gives the novel its name, Sankofa expresses the importance of reaching back to knowledge gained in the past and bringing it into the present to address universal questions of race and belonging, the overseas experience for the African diaspora, and the search for a family's hidden roots.
Examining freedom, prejudice, and personal and public inheritance, Sankofa is a story for anyone who has ever gone looking for a clear identity or home, and found something more complex in its place.
“A beautiful exploration of the often complex parameters of freedom, prejudice, and individual sense of self. Chibundu Onuzo has written a captivating story about a mixed-race British woman who goes in search of the West African father she never knew . . . [A] beautiful book about a woman brave enough to discover her true identity.” —Reese Witherspoon
“Onuzo’s sneakily breezy, highly entertaining novel leaves the reader rethinking familiar narratives of colonization, inheritance and liberation.” —The New York Times Book Review
Named a Best Book of the Month by Entertainment Weekly, Harper's Bazaar, and Time • Named a Most Anticipated Book of the Month by Goodreads, PopSugar, PureWow, LitHub, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and Buzzfeed
A woman wondering who she really is goes in search of a father she never knew—only to find something far more complicated than she ever expected—in this “stirring narrative about family, our capacity to change and the need to belong” (Time).
Anna is at a stage of her life when she's beginning to wonder who she really is. In her 40s, she has separated from her husband, her daughter is all grown up, and her mother—the only parent who raised her—is dead.
Searching through her mother's belongings one day, Anna finds clues about the African father she never knew. His student diaries chronicle his involvement in radical politics in 1970s London. Anna discovers that he eventually became the president—some would say dictator—of a small nation in West Africa. And he is still alive...
When Anna decides to track her father down, a journey begins that is disarmingly moving, funny, and fascinating. Like the metaphorical bird that gives the novel its name, Sankofa expresses the importance of reaching back to knowledge gained in the past and bringing it into the present to address universal questions of race and belonging, the overseas experience for the African diaspora, and the search for a family's hidden roots.
Examining freedom, prejudice, and personal and public inheritance, Sankofa is a story for anyone who has ever gone looking for a clear identity or home, and found something more complex in its place.
BUY THE BOOK
These clubs recently read this book...
Community Reviews
Anna Bain is a 48 years old mother to an eating disorder daughter, named Rose who is pushing Anna to divorce her father and wife to a husband who cheated on her and âactsâ remorseful but would prefer to get back together with Anna and move on from his infidelity. This pretty much sums up Anna Bain. She gave up her career once she married and because she had gotten pregnant.
Annaâs mother has passed away and Anna finally decided to clean up her motherâs place. Annaâs mother and the rest of her family is Welsh but Anna is of mixed race. She is part Welsh and part black. She is reminded of this every day in London and while she is light skinned, her curly hair makes her âdifferentâ from all the rest of her classmates as she was growing up. Anna is keenly aware of her mixed heritage and doesnât feel she belongs. Her grandfather loves her but doesn't discuss who Annaâs father is. In fact, nobody really does...maybe with the exception of Aunt Caroline. Sheâs very radical for that family. She is the free spirit of the family whereas Annaâs mother was the quieter but prettier one.
Anna then comes across a diary that belongs to a former border of her grandfatherâs farm and she begins to read it and soon realizes, this diary belongs to more than just an African student visiting London for school. He is, in fact, Francis Aggrey. Francis Aggrey is her father.
After not wanting to go through with fully deciding whether or not she wants to continue proceedings of divorcing Robert or staying married to him, dealing with her daughterâs eating food issues, she has a big desire to visit her fatherâs birthplace which is Banama, in West Africa. Turns out not only is he alive but he was their former king. How he has changed, not only as a person but he was a former king of Banama. He went from a mild mannered student to quite the radical and controversial king. People feared and loved him.
What resonated with me was how despondent she felt with her immediate family. Her husband who wants her back because she kicked him out and a daughter who was so angry with her father because he disappointed her. However, Robertâs easy-going demeanor can draw you in like a moth to a flame and when Rose turned on her mother after finally making up with her father, I was so over that family. I could understand why Anna suddenly didnât feel the need to return home as she originally intended. After all, it wasnât Annaâs fault that she was arrested because the authorities didnât believe she was able to have an official Banaman instead of a British passport.
I loved the complexity of Kofi (formerly known as Francis Aggrey) and who he is today and how vastly different he is from his former self. Yet he still looks for Annaâs approval because she is the only person who can tie both of those two people within one. Itâs like when he gave her a new name: Nana. If you play scrabble, you rearrange Anna and get Nana which means Queen. Different names and yet itâs representative of the old and new Anna Bain. She is now Nana Adjei Bain. Itâs like my life today. I am no longer the same person I was in my younger years but I am still me.
A slow character development but well thought out, beautifully written book. Take the time to read it because it's worth it. It was very hard for me to put down but real life kept getting in my way.
Annaâs mother has passed away and Anna finally decided to clean up her motherâs place. Annaâs mother and the rest of her family is Welsh but Anna is of mixed race. She is part Welsh and part black. She is reminded of this every day in London and while she is light skinned, her curly hair makes her âdifferentâ from all the rest of her classmates as she was growing up. Anna is keenly aware of her mixed heritage and doesnât feel she belongs. Her grandfather loves her but doesn't discuss who Annaâs father is. In fact, nobody really does...maybe with the exception of Aunt Caroline. Sheâs very radical for that family. She is the free spirit of the family whereas Annaâs mother was the quieter but prettier one.
Anna then comes across a diary that belongs to a former border of her grandfatherâs farm and she begins to read it and soon realizes, this diary belongs to more than just an African student visiting London for school. He is, in fact, Francis Aggrey. Francis Aggrey is her father.
After not wanting to go through with fully deciding whether or not she wants to continue proceedings of divorcing Robert or staying married to him, dealing with her daughterâs eating food issues, she has a big desire to visit her fatherâs birthplace which is Banama, in West Africa. Turns out not only is he alive but he was their former king. How he has changed, not only as a person but he was a former king of Banama. He went from a mild mannered student to quite the radical and controversial king. People feared and loved him.
What resonated with me was how despondent she felt with her immediate family. Her husband who wants her back because she kicked him out and a daughter who was so angry with her father because he disappointed her. However, Robertâs easy-going demeanor can draw you in like a moth to a flame and when Rose turned on her mother after finally making up with her father, I was so over that family. I could understand why Anna suddenly didnât feel the need to return home as she originally intended. After all, it wasnât Annaâs fault that she was arrested because the authorities didnât believe she was able to have an official Banaman instead of a British passport.
I loved the complexity of Kofi (formerly known as Francis Aggrey) and who he is today and how vastly different he is from his former self. Yet he still looks for Annaâs approval because she is the only person who can tie both of those two people within one. Itâs like when he gave her a new name: Nana. If you play scrabble, you rearrange Anna and get Nana which means Queen. Different names and yet itâs representative of the old and new Anna Bain. She is now Nana Adjei Bain. Itâs like my life today. I am no longer the same person I was in my younger years but I am still me.
A slow character development but well thought out, beautifully written book. Take the time to read it because it's worth it. It was very hard for me to put down but real life kept getting in my way.
Well written with an interesting plot. Some of the characters were a little problematic but that made them and the relationships very believable.
Partial Goodreads summary...Anna is at a stage of her life when she's beginning to wonder who she really is. She has separated from her husband, her daughter is all grown up, and her mother—the only parent who raised her—is dead.
Searching through her mother's belongings one day, Anna finds clues about the African father she never knew.
My notes...Anna gets up the gumption to travel and find her father. She finds herself along the way. She reads her father's diary and forms some initial opinions about how he might be, but she finds out he's not the man she thinks he is. Can they establish a relationship?
Very easy to read.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.