Harare Review of Books

256 pages.

Expected publication date: June 28, 2022.

Genre: Fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for this eARC.

Funmi, Enitan and Zainab have come together for the first time in many years to celebrate the wedding of Funmi’s daughter, Destiny. They have stayed in touch since university, and their friendship remains close—a sisterhood, really—in spite of the trials they have encountered along the way, both personally, and through the ups and downs of the friendship.

I love what Obaro did with the timeline of the book, first introducing us to the characters in the present day, and then taking us back to the university years to flesh them out, and finally bringing us back again. I found that my initial view of Funmi, especially, changed, as I understood more about her background; but all the characters are taken through plausible and interesting arcs.

This is not exactly a light read, and falls more into the category of literary fiction, in spite of the seeming lightness of the main plot. My only criticism, really is that—in the ARC, at least—there is a lot of telling, and I look forward to reading the published book, which will hopefully be a tighter story.

A lovely and enjoyable read about older women, their path to maturity, and their relationships. Also a good read about mothers and daughters.

My rating: 7/10. Well worth picking up.