Listen to a sample
Before We Hit the Ground
- Author
- Selali Fiamanya
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 27 February 2025
- Run Time
- 9 hours 44 minutes
- Format
- x-book®
- Genre
- Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Family life fiction / Stories about family, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Narrative theme: interior life / psychological fiction, Narrative theme: death, grief, loss, Narrative theme: sense of place, Narrative theme: social issues / social problems
What to expect
*LONGLISTED FOR THE SALTIRE BOOK AWARDS*
'A moving exploration of family, migration, class, queerness and belonging… beautifully rendered' JESSICA ANDREWS
'A deeply observant, perceptive writer' JOANNA CANNON
'Masterful' JJ BOLA
'Evocative, layered and emotionally resonant… deserves to be on your reading list' GLAMOUR
‘Love was a tightrope between freedom and control. He didn’t know how others seemed to walk it with ease’–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
Elom can’t make sense of love. It’s like a language he can’t speak, though he’s heard the words before.
He wants to feel understood – by his well-meaning yet misapprehending family, his self-assured partner Ben, and his boisterous friends – but he never knows the right thing to say.
How can you know yourself, in a world that’s constantly changing?
Set across Ghana and Scotland, this is an intimate portrait of one man’s search for belonging, a family’s attempt to love, and the choices that make a life.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
GLOWING READER REVIEWS
‘Fiamanya's writing is just gorgeous – it's tender, it's unflinching, and it's totally immersive’
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
‘This is one of the best books I’ve read this year, and I truly hope more people discover it’
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
‘All in all this was an absolutely stunning debut novel, I cannot wait to read more of Fiamanya's work in the future’
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
‘Hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking, this took my breath away. Wow, what a gorgeous novel. I can't recommend this enough’
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Critics Review
-
A moving exploration of family, migration, class, queerness and belonging. Tender and troubling, Selali Fiamanya’s debut shows us the ways in which a loss of language can manifest as a loss of love. This beautifully rendered novel explores what happens to our sense of self when the world around us is shifting and unstable'
Jessica Andrews
-
A deeply observant, perceptive writer
Joanna Cannon
-
A moving and masterful debut… tells an untold story that tenderly treads the lines of tradition and modernity, love and loss, courage and fear, and hope and despair. It will stay with you long after you finish it
JJ Bola
-
A poignant multigenerational story exploring themes of identity, belonging, and the complexities of queer love, set across Ghana, Glasgow and London… Fiamanya's evocative prose paints a vivid portrait of a family's love and the choices that define a life. Layered and emotionally resonant, this is a literary novel that deserves to be on your reading list.
Glamour
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-
A remarkable debut; quietly devastating, utterly moving and beautifully wrought
Jendella Benson
-
Warm, engrossing, deeply moving. I loved these characters
Holly Brickley
-
Remarkably nuanced and deeply absorbing… transcends its subject matter through its portrayal, not only of family, but of the numerous ambivalences of love, loyalty, loss, friendship and rupture. A heartbreaking and uplifting novel
Jacob Ross
-
Delicate and nuanced… crisp and beautiful, this story broke my heart and made it beat faster, all at the same time
Silvia Saunders
-
Stunning… powerful, profound and poignant… at once beautiful and raw
Sunday Post
-
A deeply honest and compelling book… expansive, surprising, delightful, vulnerable and always real. Wonderfully broad and deliciously bold, this is a much-needed and timely addition to British fiction
Olumide Popoola
-
An ambitious debut that picks apart the intricacies of family life, exposing both the painful and joyous sides of humanity to the reader, so that we wonder about these characters long after turning that final page
Maame Blue
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Brilliant… a moving, empathic reckoning with the cost and contradictions of self-making in a world of unknowns. I read it in one enthralled sitting
Peter Scalpello
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His deep understanding of and sympathy for his four central characters lends a quiet authority to Before We Hit the Ground that’s particularly impressive for a debut novelist, as he shades each of them in with the kind of revealing details that communicate real lived experience
The Herald
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A beautifully written and deeply relatable debut, this novel lays bare the quiet battles of self-expression, the intricacies of family relationships, and the struggle to find where one truly belongs. Selali captures the rift between generations, the yearning for connection, and the delicate tension of balancing two worlds. Vivid, humorous, and full of heart, this is a story that lingers long after the final page
Musih Tedji Xaviere
-
A novel of remarkable depth and compassion – heartbreaking yet ultimately life-affirming in its insistence that the search for belonging, however fraught, remains essential to our humanity
Gscene
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A moving meditation on love, family, heritage, queerness and purpose
AnOther Magazine
-
A literary burst of fireworks
Skinny Mag
-
A beautifully layered portrait of identity, grief, and the quiet ache of being misunderstood… a writer to watch
Voice Mag
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Selali Fiamanya
- Narrator
- Selali Fiamanya, Danielle Fiamanya
- Duration
- 9 hours 44 minutes
- Release Date
- 27 February 2025
- ISBN
- 9780008509590
- Format
- x-book®
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Family life fiction / Stories about family, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Narrative theme: interior life / psychological fiction, Narrative theme: death, grief, loss, Narrative theme: sense of place, Narrative theme: social issues / social problems
Synopsis
*LONGLISTED FOR THE SALTIRE BOOK AWARDS* 'A moving exploration of family, migration, class, queerness and belonging… beautifully rendered' JESSICA ANDREWS 'A deeply observant, perceptive writer' JOANNA CANNON 'Masterful' JJ BOLA 'Evocative, layered and emotionally resonant… deserves to be on your reading list' GLAMOUR ‘Love was a tightrope between freedom and control. He didn’t know how others seemed to walk it with ease’ –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––- Elom can’t make sense of love. It’s like a language he can’t speak, though he’s heard the words before. He wants to feel understood – by his well-meaning yet misapprehending family, his self-assured partner Ben, and his boisterous friends – but he never knows the right thing to say. How can you know yourself, in a world that’s constantly changing? Set across Ghana and Scotland, this is an intimate portrait of one man’s search for belonging, a family’s attempt to love, and the choices that make a life. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––- GLOWING READER REVIEWS ‘Fiamanya's writing is just gorgeous – it's tender, it's unflinching, and it's totally immersive’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ‘This is one of the best books I’ve read this year, and I truly hope more people discover it’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ‘All in all this was an absolutely stunning debut novel, I cannot wait to read more of Fiamanya's work in the future’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ‘Hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking, this took my breath away. Wow, what a gorgeous novel. I can't recommend this enough’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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