The Days of Afrekete - by Asali Solomon (Hardcover)
Similar Products
Products of same category from the store
All
Product info
<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br>"Inspired by Mrs. Dalloway and Sula, The Days of Afrekete is a tender, surprising novel about two Philadelphia women at midlife who rediscover themselves-and perhaps each other"--<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><p><b>"I didn't feel like I was reading this novel--I felt like I was living it." --Ann Patchett, author of <i>The Dutch House</i></b> <p/><b>From award-winning author Asali Solomon, <i>The Days of Afrekete</i> is a tender, surprising novel of two women at midlife who rediscover themselves--and perhaps each other, </b><b>i</b><b>nspired by <i>Mrs. Dalloway</i>, <i>Sula</i>, and Audre Lorde's <i>Zami</i></b> <p/>Liselle Belmont is having a dinner party. <p/>It seems a strange occasion--her husband, Winn, has lost his bid for the state legislature--but what better way to thank key supporters than a feast? Liselle was never sure about her husband becoming a politician, never sure about the limelight, never sure about the life of fundraising and stump speeches. Then an FBI agent calls to warn her that Winn might be facing corruption charges. An avalanche of questions tumbles around her: Is it possible he's guilty? Who are they to each other; who have they become? How much of herself has she lost--and was it worth it? And just this minute, how will she make it through this dinner party? <p/>Across town, Selena Octave is making her way through the same day, the same way she always does--one foot in front of the other, keeping quiet and focused, trying not to see the terrors all around her. Homelessness, starving children, the very living horrors of history that made America possible: these and other thoughts have made it difficult for her to live an easy life. The only time she was ever really happy was with Liselle, back in college. But they've lost touch, so much so that when they ran into each other at a drugstore just after Obama was elected president, they barely spoke. But as the day wears on, memories of Liselle begin to shift Selena's path. <p/>Inspired by <i>Mrs. Dalloway</i> and <i>Sula</i>, as well as Audre Lorde's <i>Zami</i>, Asali Solomon's <i>The Days of Afrekete</i> is a deft, expertly layered, naturally funny, and deeply human examination of two women coming back to themselves at midlife. It is a watchful celebration of our choices and where they take us, the people who change us, and how we can reimagine ourselves even when our lives seem set.</p><p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br><p><b>A Belletrist Book Club Pick</b><br><b>A Finalist for the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence<br>A <i>New York Times Book Review </i>Editor's Choice</b><br><b>A Best Book of the Year: <i>New York </i></b><br><b>A Best Book of October: <i>TIME</i>, <i>The Washington Post</i>, <i>The Philadelphia Inquirer</i>, <i>Ms.</i></b><br><b>A Most Anticipated Book of 2021: <i>The Millions</i>, <i>Lit Hub</i></b><br><b>A Most Anticipated Book of the Fall: <i>New York</i>, <i>The Boston Globe</i><br></b><br>"[<i>The Days of Afrekete</i>] is a feat of engineering. It's also a reverie, a riff on <i>Mrs. Dalloway</i> and a love story. In Liselle, Solomon has invented a character who comes to the mind's eye in HD, with anxieties, jokes, memories, furies and survival instincts all present in prose as clear as water."<br><b>--Molly Young, <i>The New York Times</i><br></b><br>"Stunning."<br><b>--Bethanne Patrick, <i> The Washington Post</i></b> <p/>"Searing."<br><b>--Annabel Gutterman, <i>TIME</i></b> <p/>"A taut study of doubleness and marital ruin that kept me up all night. Solomon is precise and tender, even as she deals with lurid, human sins and the terror of critical mass--that it is inevitable, and that despite our need to travel backward, it cannot be undone."<br><b>--Raven Leilani, <i>The Guardian</i></b> <p/>"A biting satire of upper-middle-class mores with a wistful love story."<br><b>--Sam Sacks, <i>The Wall Street Journal</i></b> <p/>"Short, sharp . . . poignant yet often bitingly funny . . . [and] observed and in shrewd detail."<br><b>--Wendy Smith, <i>The Washington Post</i></b> <p/>"Tense, affecting, and slyly funny."<br><b>--Patrick Rapa, <i>The Philadelphia Inquirer</i></b> <p/>"Fresh and funny, offering reflections on friendships, choices and how the past truly shapes the future."<br><b>--Karla Strand, <i>Ms. </i></b> <p/>"<i>The Days of Afrekete</i> is so elegant and fresh, so sophisticated and modern, I didn't feel like I was reading this novel--I felt like I was living it. I loved every minute."<br><b>--Ann Patchett, author of <i>The Dutch House</i></b> <p/>"With both a precise focus on a single day and the range to cover decades, <i>The Days of Afrekete</i> beautifully captures what it feels like to find yourself going through the motions of a life that used to pulse with color, wondering what you traded for survival or success. Asali Solomon illuminates what it means to grow away from what felt like the truest version of yourself, what the way back might look like, what Black women in particular are asked to give up, and what it might mean to refuse. Solomon is a treasure: wise, hilarious, and full of poignant insight."<br><b>--Danielle Evans, author of <i>The Office of Historical Corrections</i></b> <p/>"<i>The Days of Afrekete</i> is a subtle, unique novel about the power of feeling between young women, and how even seemingly ephemeral relationships can affect a life across decades of personal and social change. It is a haunting and redemptive story."<br><b>--Mary Gaitskill, author of <i>This is Pleasure</i></b> <p/>"<i>The Days of Afrekete</i> is one of the most enjoyable novels I've read in a long time. Asali Solomon is a wickedly astute observer of the human condition, alert to all our weaknesses and absurdities, as well as our occasional moments of transcendence. The clarity of her vision is sometimes unsettling, but it's always revelatory."<br><b>--Tom Perrotta, author of <i>Mrs. Fletcher</i></b> <p/>"Solomon echoes the deep feminine bonds at the center of novels like Nella Larsen's <i>Passing </i>and Toni Morrison's <i>Sula </i>to reveal how the erotics of our past lives shape our futures even when we think the desire is long gone."<br><b>--Omari Weekes, <i>Vulture</i></b> <p/>"[Asali Solomon is] in a lineage of modernist party hosts like Woolf and Proust. What starts out a smoothly entertaining social satire turns out to expect a little work from you, dear reader."<br><b>--<i>Kirkus Reviews</i>, starred review</b> <p/>"Centered on Liselle Belmont, in a marriage of convenience that begins to unravel amid political scandal, this tender novel explores Liselle's rediscovery of herself and her former college lover."<br><b>--Joshunda Sanders, <i>The Boston Globe</i></b> <p/>"Illuminating . . . Solomon brings wit and incisive commentary to this pristine take on two characters' fascinating and painful lives."<br><b>--<i>Publishers Weekly</i>, starred review</b> <p/>"Solomon charts the social and cultural geography of her native Philadelphia with clear-eyed affection, and gives each woman character a full-throated voice. Unforgettable."<br><b>--Lesley Williams, <i>Booklist</i>, starred review</b> <p/>"Astonishing . . . Such a beautiful, strange, funny, moving book . . . It defies description."<br><b>--Elizabeth McCracken, author of <i>The Souvenir Museum</i> (on Twitter)</b> <p/>"Outstanding . . . Incredibly intimate and yet expansive."<br><b>--Porochista Khakpour, <i>Bookforum</i></b> <p/>"Surprising, witty . . . <i>The Days of Afrekete</i> is a book about queer Blackness, friendship, and the power of reclamation."<br><b>--Annie Liontas, <i>Electric Lit</i></b></p><br><p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br><b>Asali Solomon's </b>first novel, <i>Disgruntled</i>, was named a best book of the year by the <i>San Francisco Chronicle</i> and<i> The Denver Post</i>. Her debut story collection, <i>Get Down</i>, earned her a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award and the National Book Foundation's "5 Under 35" honor, and was a finalist for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. Her work has appeared in <i>O, The Oprah Magazine</i>, <i>Vibe</i>, <i>Essence</i>, <i> The Paris Review Daily</i>, <i>McSweeney's</i>, and several anthologies, and on NPR. Solomon teaches fiction writing and literature of the African diaspora at Haverford College. She was born and raised in Philadelphia, where she lives with her husband and two sons.
Price History
Cheapest price in the interval: 19.39 on November 8, 2021
Most expensive price in the interval: 19.39 on December 20, 2021
Price Archive shows prices from various stores, lets you see history and find the cheapest. There is no actual sale on the website. For all support, inquiry and suggestion messagescommunication@pricearchive.us