This was a very well written book! It was so touching and moving, the familial issues and struggles this family deals with is crazy. It is so heartbreaking, and the writing was so well done! I loved the cultural differences and similarities!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Book Review The Edge of Water by Olufunke Grace Bankole

Publication Date: Feb 3/25

Thanks NetGalley and Tin House publishing for the opportunity to preview this book. The opinions are my own.

This is a beautifully written book following the lives of a mother and daughter in Nigeria, Esther and Amina. They are Yoruba which enriches the story with Yoruba religion, culture and folklore and how this impacts the women’s lives, their choices and dreams.

Esther is a pillar of strength, experiencing scores of adversity and trauma, and starting her own restaurant business so she is not reliant on anyone for survival. She wants the best for her daughter, culturally, that means marriage. Amina is dissatisfied with her life and dreams of going to America. She succeeds in the Visa lottery and moves to New Orleans. Her mother has been told that her destiny is tied to the Nigerian land, but she supports her dreams.

Amina continues to feel unfulfilled but begins to believe that she can control her own destiny. The hurricane hits New Orleans and Amina and her daughter are forced to seek shelter at the Dome, her dreams come to an end as another faceless black woman.

This story is about dreams, ambitions and regrets. It is vividly told from the POV of both MC’s. Esther and Amina’s relationship is complicated, although there is a bounty of love, pride got in the way of seeking the comfort they could have had from each other. Their relationship is dynamic, loving and complicated. The story explores the conflict that exists between ones dreams and the expectations that are placed on you from family and community. Amina’s daughter reuniting with Esther is heartwarming. The concept of home and its meaning is beautifully explored as your birth land, your family and within yourself.

This is a captivating story of family, community connection, and love. The spiritual aspects of the Yoruba religion and culture as well as the folklore add a distinctive depth and a unique blend of prophecy, destiny and free will. The prophecies of the sea shells at the beginning of each chapter were perfect and set the stage for each chapter. If you love complicated family tales and exploring other cultures this is the book for you.

The Edge of Water by Olufunke Grace Bankole is a sweeping, multi-generational novel that pulses with history, heartbreak, and the quiet resilience of women bound by love, loss, and an ocean between them. Bankole’s prose is lyrical yet grounded, weaving a story that spans continents and generations while never losing sight of its emotional core: the unspoken bond between a mother and daughter who are worlds apart yet forever entwined.

The novel opens in Ibadan, Nigeria, where a mother—grounded in both Yoruba tradition and Christian faith—receives a chilling divination about her daughter, Amina. The weight of the forewarning is palpable, but Amina’s determination to carve her own path leads her to New Orleans, a city brimming with culture, possibility, and danger. Bankole vividly captures the duality of Amina’s experience—the wonder of a fresh start in a vibrant city and the slow, creeping dread of a storm that mirrors her internal fears.

The hurricane’s arrival isn’t just a dramatic event—it’s a reckoning. The chaos and destruction force Amina to confront both her dreams and her vulnerability, as the life she’s tried to build is torn apart. Bankole’s depiction of the storm is as visceral as it is symbolic, and the fallout reshapes the narrative as we move forward in time to Amina’s daughter, who is left with questions that reach across both memory and geography.

Amina’s daughter’s quest for answers is equally compelling. The narrative shifts between past and present, Nigeria and America, as she pieces together the life of the mother she barely knew and unravels the complex legacy of her family. Bankole masterfully balances these timelines, creating a poignant exploration of identity, displacement, and the deep yearning to belong. The daughter’s journey back to Nigeria is particularly moving, as it becomes not just a search for history but a reclamation of her place within it.

One of the novel’s strengths is its rich cultural tapestry. Bankole doesn’t just reference Yoruba traditions—she immerses the reader in their beauty, contradictions, and power. The tension between faiths, the role of divination, and the weight of ancestral wisdom are all explored with care and nuance. The way these cultural threads intersect with Amina’s romance, ambitions, and tragedies makes her story feel deeply personal yet universal.

The novel also shines in its portrayal of love—not just romantic love, but the complicated, sometimes unspoken love between mothers and daughters. The gaps in communication between Amina and her mother, and later between Amina and her daughter, are achingly real. Bankole doesn’t shy away from showing how love can be both fierce and flawed, how silence can protect but also wound.

If there’s a critique, it’s that some sections—particularly during the hurricane’s aftermath—feel slightly rushed compared to the rich, contemplative pace of the rest of the novel. Certain side characters, especially in New Orleans, could have been given more depth, as their connections to Amina’s journey feel more symbolic than fully realized. However, these minor shortcomings don’t diminish the emotional impact of the story as a whole.

At 4 stars, The Edge of Water is a luminous and unforgettable debut that captures the complexities of diaspora, motherhood, and self-discovery with grace and honesty. Olufunke Grace Bankole’s storytelling feels like a song passed down through generations—layered, resonant, and deeply human. It’s a novel for anyone who has ever felt the pull of home, even when home is a place you’ve never known, and for those who understand that love often means letting go and trusting that the tides will carry you where you’re meant to be.