Memphis

£9.99

Joan was only a child the last time she visited Memphis. She doesn’t remember the bustle of Beale Street on a summer’s night. She doesn’t know she’s as likely to hear a gunshot ring out as the sound of children playing. How the smell of honeysuckle is almost overwhelming as she climbs the porch steps to the house where her mother grew up. But when the front door opens, she does remember Derek. This house full of history is home to the women of the North family. They are no strangers to adversity; resilience runs in their blood. Fifty years ago, Hazel’s husband was lynched by his all-white police squad, yet she made a life for herself and her daughters in the majestic house he built for them. August lives there still, running a salon where the neighbourhood women gather. And now this house is the only place Joan has left.

In stock

Description

LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE

‘A rhapsodic hymn to Black women’ New York Times Book Review

‘Epic yet intimate’ Cosmopolitan

‘Ferocious and compassionate’ Irish Times

FAMILY CAN HOLD YOU TOGETHER. AND TEAR YOU APART.

Joan was only a child the last time she visited Memphis. She doesn’t remember the bustle of Beale Street or the smell of honeysuckle as she climbs the porch steps to her aunt’s house. But when the front door opens, she does remember her cousin Derek.

As Joan learns more about her family’s past she discovers she’s not the only North woman to have experienced great hurt. But she also sees their resilience and courage, how these extraordinary women fry green tomatoes and braid hair and sing all the while.

Joan can’t change the past, but she can change her future. It’s time to find her own song to sing.

**** READERS LOVE MEMPHIS ****

‘I couldn’t put it down. You will fall in love with these women’

‘One of the best books I’ve ever read’

‘Utterly spellbinding’

‘This book has my entire heart’

‘It felt so real – I cried at their pain and smiled at their joy’

‘Intricately plotted, wildly satisfying’

‘Epic, in every sense of the word. It completely blew me away’

Additional information

Weight 220 g
Dimensions 196 × 128 × 24 mm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Paperback

Pages

252

Language

English

Edition

1st paperback ed

Dewey

813.6 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K