One of the yearâs most anticipated by Marie Claire, Essence, Debutiful, & Goodreads
A brilliant debut by a British-Nigerian authorâa heartfelt family drama that will delight book club readers and fans of books like The Girl with the Louding Voice and Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows.
âJendella Benson has drawn such a compelling world. The book and the characters stayed with me long after I'd turned the final pages!â âCandice Carty-Williams, bestselling author of Queenie
Glory Akindele returns to London from her seemingly glamorous life in LA to mourn the sudden death of her father, only to find her previously close family has fallen apart in her absence. Her brother, Victor, is in jail and wonât speak to her because she didnât come home for his trial. Her older sister, Faith, once a busy career woman, appears to have lost her independence and ambition, and is instead channeling her energies into holding together a perfect suburban family. Worst of all, their mother, Celeste, is headed toward a breakdown after the death of her husband and the shame of her sonâs incarceration.
Rather than returning to America, Glory decides to stay and try to bring them all together again. Itâs a tall order given that Gloryâs life isnât exactly working out according to plan either, and sheâs acutely aware that sheâs not so sure who she is and what she wants.
A chance reunion with a man sheâd known in her teensâthe perceptive but elusive Julianâgives her the courage to start questioning why her respectable but obsessively private Nigerian immigrant family is the way it is. But then Gloryâs questioning unearths a massive secret that shatters the familyâs fragile peaceâand she risks losing everyone she deeply cares about in her pursuit of the truth and a reunited family.
"Filled with unexpected, but earned, twists, Hope and Glory balances moments of rich humor and devastating profundity...deeply authentic." âKirkus Reviews
"A sumptuous and satisfying meditation on family and the meaning of home.â âPublishers Weekly