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When We Were Birds

By: Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
Narrated by: Sydney Darius, Wendell Manwarren
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Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin. 

Mesmerising, mythic and timeless - the most unmissable debut novel of 2022 - for fans of Arundhati Roy, Toni Morrison and Monique Roffey.

Darwin is a down-on-his-luck gravedigger, newly arrived in the Trinidadian city of Port Angeles to seek his fortune, young and beautiful and lost. Estranged from his mother and the Rastafari faith she taught him, he is convinced that the father he never met may be waiting for him somewhere amid these bustling streets.

Meanwhile in an old house on a hill, where the city meets the rainforest, Yejide's mother is dying. And she is leaving behind a legacy that now passes to Yejide: the power to talk to the dead. The women of Yejide's family are human but also not - descended from corbeau, the black birds that fly east at sunset, taking with them the souls of the dead.

Darwin and Yejide both have something that the other needs. Their destinies are intertwined, and they will find one another in the sprawling, ancient cemetery at the heart of the island, where trouble is brewing....

Rich with magic and wisdom, When We Were Birds is an exuberant, incantatory masterpiece that conjures and mesmerises on every line. Ayanna Lloyd Banwo weaves an unforgettable story of loss and renewal, darkness and light; a triumphant reckoning with a grief that runs back generations and a defiant, joyful affirmation of hope.
©2022 Ayanna Lloyd Banwo (P)2022 Penguin Audio
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Critic Reviews

"Exceptional. The originality of its premise, the power and beauty of its prose, the depth of its explorations of what it means to love and be loved." (Jacob Ross, author of Black Rain Falling)

"Combining the richness of myth with razor-sharp observation of contemporary life, When We Were Birds marks the emergence of a distinctive and powerful voice." (Pat Barker, author of The Silence of the Girls)

"Ayanna Lloyd Banwo is a rising literary star from a region which gave the world three Nobel Laureates in literature. She conjures old magic and yet she is a strong, new voice." (Monique Roffey, author of The Mermaid of Black Conch)

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Profile Image for Anonymous User

This book just absolutely blew me away!

It is both fabulously dark and sinister story and a beautiful and touching love story. I never thought I’d enjoy the two combined together so much but it made for such a stunning story.
At certain points I could feel the hair on my arms rising and it was the most delicious feeling. The story starts off somewhat innocent and you almost expect a fairytale like story but the darkness and the dead quickly get thrown in and I soaked it up.
The connection both our main characters have with the dead is so different and yet it brings them together in such a beautiful way that i couldn’t help but fall for their love story too.
I wasn’t expecting to fall madly in love with this book but I sure as hell did and I enjoyed every second of the strange yet beautiful combination of love and death that this book provided.

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Profile Image for Nequila Vincent

Brilliant book best I’ve read in years!

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, the characters and storyline were so captivating I finished it in a day. The author describes every scene so vividly that the words came to life and jumped out of each page so that I felt like I was in their world. This story will take you on a journey with each main character so much that you feel the emotion and in some ways find it very relatable. If you’re on the fence just buy the book it’s a great read you’re sure to never forget.

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