Anna is a woman in her forties, living in London. She is adrift. Her daughter is grown and doesn't need her as she once did. She and her husband have separated due to his infidelity and Anna isn't sure if she should go through with a divorce. Her mother, who raised her alone has recently died. Anna is the child of a white mother and an African father but her father returned to Africa before she was born and she never met him or knew much about him.

Cleaning out her mother's house to put it on the market, she comes across a box of her mother's mementos. Within it, Anna finds her father's diary of his time in England. Entranced, she reads it and decides that with the money from the sale of her mother's house, she will go to Africa and find him if he is still alive.

Researching him, she finds some of his friends and acquaintances from that time in London. She also discovers that after he returned, he joined a resistance group that overthrew the government and that he became the first African President of their small country. Some would say he was a dictator and there are rumors of deaths associated with him. Others praise him and point to his accomplishments during his time as the head of government.

When Anna finally meets him, she is not sure what to think. One day he ignores her, the next he takes her to various sites in the country that have meaning for him and that he wants to share with her. She meets some of his children, a half sister who is a judge and a half brother. One welcomes her, one is suspicious of her and believes she is out to get something from their father. Through it all, Anna tries to figure out who her father really is so that she can decide who she really is.

This novel was a Reece Book Club Pick along with other accolades. I listened to this novel and the narrator was perfect with the various accents of the people in Anna's life. The book explores themes of colonialism and whether those who overthrow governments end up any better. It follows Anna as she tries to fill in the blanks of her family life and to decide if she wants to incorporate her African family into her life. It also follows her journey for self determination and how finding out who we are can happen at any age. This book is recommended for readers interested in family and multicultural stories.

An interesting story with beautiful character development. For me personally it would have been better as a physical read than an audiobook.

A woman who was raised by her mother in England travels to Africa after discovering the identity of her father. I was entertained but found some of the characters' actions strange and unbelievable.

I was enchanted by this story. Finding clues about a father she never knew at a time in her life when she's questioning her own relationships. Very powerful. The story is rich and the details are vivid. I love reading about regions and customs I am unfamiliar with. I looked up the meaning of the word. Of Ghanaian descent, “it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind.” Describes Anna's mission in this book.

Unfortunately, I am in a middle school LLC but have recommended it to my adult peers.

This title was archived before I was able to download it and listen. I will read and review at a later date.

Anna just lost her mother and never knew her father. She's separated from her cheating husband, and her adult daughter is trying to talk her into divorcing him once and for all. Half Welsh and half African, she's never felt like she's belonged anywhere. She finds a diary amongst her mother's things and dives in, finally learning about the father she never knew. Soon, she's headed out to West Africa to meet the man she grew to love from his diary, and now she has to get to know the somewhat disappointing man he's become.

What. A. Ride. This was such a beautiful story and the list of things I loved is long. I loved that Anna first gets to learn about her father through his own words as he's radicalized in the United Kingdom as a young man. I love that, as a middle aged woman fresh off a break up, she takes the initiative to visit a country she's never been to in order to discover her roots. I love Anna's relationship with her daughter and the woman she is when she *finally* meets her father.

If this was on your radar already or you were thinking of picking it up, consider this your sign!

Read if... you loved Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing or Transcendent Kingdom.

I listened to Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo on audiobook. The narrator was fantastic. This story was a fresh, eye opening tale into a culture unlike my own. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it and the story that was told.

3.5

I did a listen/read combination of Chibundu Onuzo’s novel, and I really enjoyed the audiobook narrator, Sara Powell. Her elocution was just how I would have read Anna’s character in the book. I think listening to the book and hearing the character’s voices really made the story come to life. I enjoyed entering the land of Bamana and learning the fictional history of the land. Anna's character arc from being melancholy to being a confident woman.

The ending felt rushed – I wanted more closure. There were several strings that were left hanging and we don't learn what becomes of several of the characters. I questioned Anna’s decisions and how she was so quick to forgive at the end of the book, but I do recognize this perhaps was to demonstrate the complicated relationship between children and parents – especially estranged ones.

My thanks to Netgalley, Catapult, Counterpoint Press and Soft Skull Press for the complimentary ARC. My opinions are my own.

I had mixed feelings after reading this book, and it wasn't until discussing it with a colleague that I was able to fully form my thoughts and opinions. In the end, I think Sankofa provides a vitally important story about identity. So many of our stories about identity center around coming of age, but this is a story about a middle aged woman searching for herself in the midst of life's changes.

Sankofa is important, but it isn't comfortable. A huge part of Anna's identity is her race and the history of her ancestry (from both parents). I was engaged throughout the novel, and I enjoyed getting to know Anna, accompanying her on her journey, and seeking the answers to her questions. Despite this, many parts of Sankofa are dour and bleak. The author sets the tone to match Anna's own mental and emotional struggles. At one point, Anna remarks how bits of plastic will likely go on to later strangle a sea animal. It was a repulsive, dark thought, but matches the lack of hope Anna is feeling at the time.

I gave this book 3.5 stars. I feel that number doesn't accurately represent how important I believe this story is, but while I appreciated the read, I can't say that I loved it. It was too uncomfortable, though valuable. I will be recommending this book to patrons who enjoy women's fiction, serious/challenging fiction, and contemporary fiction. I think this book would also be great for a book club!

3.5 stars!
Anna is searching for herself when she stumbles upon a diary belonging to her unknown father in her mother’s belongings. Recently separated from her husband and still coping with her mother’s death, she becomes immersed in her journey to understand who her father is.

Anna was a very real and flawed protagonist which made her likeable but frustrating at times. I struggled with her naivety (especially when she went abroad). I thought the diary portions were well written and kept me interested. I did find there were some pretty good pockets of tension as well but didn’t love the letdown on the tail end of those moments. I did find it a bit long with some lulls where I wasn’t really invested. I liked this one, didn’t love it!

This was a four-star read for me. I listened to the audiobook, which I really enjoyed. The narrator was excellent. I loved the story of Anna Bain. This was a sensitive story that deals with mixed race relationships. It is filled with warmth, compassion and intimacy, and just enough mystery to keep you turning those pages. Thank you net Galley in the publisher for this ARC

I’m so surprised I didn’t enjoy “Sankofa” more, but here we are. I came into this book excited by the premise, but I felt that for the main plot, there was too much going on and it was a bit hard to follow. You were supposed to feel emotions for the deep storylines, but the structure of the book really prevented me from doing so. There was less excitement to the story than I had been hoping for, so unfortunately a 2 star ⭐️ rating is what I’m giving this one. Maybe it’s just not for me. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy for review.

A great Reese's bookclub pick! I loved the audiobook version of this book - the narrator was very engaging and the story was great throughout. Themes of family, identity, and self discovery brought to life with this narration!


Thank you to the author, RB Media, and NetGalley for providing a copy to review!

An engrossing tale about a middle-aged woman who discovers her previously unknown father's diary among her mother's effects after her mother's death. In a somewhat credibility-stretching twist, her father turns out to have become an African dictator who may or may not have violently suppressed student protests. The book has interesting, sometimes painful, things to say about what it's like to be raised as a multi-racial child by a white family who tries not to see race. The main character's central identity was largely ignored all her life, and when she grows up, she marries a white man and has a child who passes as white, so her entire family life has been spent surrounded by white people.

On a whim, in search of the Black family she was always denied, she decides to travel to Africa (to the fictional country where her father is still considered a hero) to try to meet her father, and most of the story takes place from there. Her fraught relationships with her white daughter and almost ex-husband are skillfully presented, with the main character's vulnerability and fear of traveling alone made clear and thus celebrated when overcome.

The one thing I questioned was why the main character had so few friends from her many years as a wife and mother. She is still in the house she lived in with her husband so one would think she would have lots of friends but she seems to have none beyond the church lady who came to her mother's funeral and reached out to her after. This is made even more questionable by the apparent ease with which she makes friends while traveling, striking up easy conversations and going on spur-of-the-moment outings with several men she picks up along the way.

But aside from that, I greatly enjoyed this story, which also makes one question ones feelings toward unearned wealth and privilege.

I thank Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free review copy of this book.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me access to this title. I listened to the audio book of this title, which is something I don't often do. It was fantastic hearing the different and many accents and following along with Anna's journey from England to Africa. The ending was not dramatic but instead was delicate and left room for interpretation, letting the reader know that Anna's journey was not quite finished and that she would continue to make new discoveries about herself.

This October Reese book club pick was a thoroughly entertaining and thought-provoking story of one mixed race woman's quest to learn more about her father. When her mother dies Anna discovers a journal of her father's and as she reads it learns more and more about the man who was absent her whole life.

She also discovers that he is still alive and living in a small West African country, where he is President. Anna embarks on a quest to get to know both her father, her identity and her heritage. Told with humor and heart, Chibundu Onuzo tells a story about race, family and identity. Highly recommended for fans of Jane Igharo's The sweetest remedy, Raceless by Georgina Lawton or writers Francesca Ekwuyasi and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ALC. This book was great on audio narrated by Sara Powell.

Loved this novel about the importance of family, finding your identity and feeling like you belong. Loved the narrator of the audio book. Highly recommend.

This is my perfect type of audiobook: the plot was character-driven and I got to experience it with an immersive narrator.
This is a story of finding yourself by coming to learn about your past. If you enjoy rich, character-driven books about family dynamics and other cultures, I think you will enjoy this book. This is a slow-burn, but that’s what speeding up the narration is for.

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. 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.

After losing her mom, Anna begins going through her mom's things and discovers a diary among her belongings. This diary clues her in to many of the mysteries surrounding her father, whom she has never known. Anna decides to take a journey of a lifetime and risk it all to find her father in hopes of discovering the answers she's been seeking her whole life.

Overall, the writing and storytelling was superb and I definitely want to read more from Chibundu Onuzo! She has undeniable talent!

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to an audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review!