Tiny Sunbirds Far Away

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What to expect

WINNER OF THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD.
'Everything changed after Mama found Father lying on top of another woman.' Blessing and her brother Ezikiel adore their larger-than-life father, their glamorous mother and their comfortable life in Lagos. But all that changes when their father leaves them for another woman. Their mother is fired from her job at the Royal Imperial Hotel - only married women can work there - and soon they have to quit their air-conditioned apartment to go and live with their grandparents in a compound in the Niger Delta. Adapting to life with a poor countryside family is a shock beyond measure after their privileged upbringing in Lagos. Told in Blessing's own beguiling voice, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away shows how some families can survive almost anything. At times hilarious, always poignant, occasionally tragic, it is peopled with characters you will never forget.
(P)2012 Quercus Editions Ltd

Critics Review

An immensely absorbing novel. It is both heart-wrenching and consoling
Chika Unigwe
The gripping, triumphant tale of a girl who chooses life over loss, in a sweet but savage world where oil is bled from the earth
Lola Shoneyin, author of The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives
Watson's descriptions of character and place are beautifully observed
Independent
Heart-warming
Telegraph
Absorbing and passionate
Guardian
Jangles with bitter-sweet laughter
Daily Mail
Readability and literary merit go hand in hand in this vibrant gem of a novel
Costa judges
An excellent novel. It takes the reader deep into the reality of ordinary life in Nigeria and is also funny, moving and politically alert
Giles Foden, author of The Last King of Scotland
A fascinating, poignant story that had me laughing in places and deeply moved in others
Ike Anya
Skilfully treading the fine line between gritty hardship and homespun warmth ... Christie Watson's affecting but unsentimental debut earns its place in the sun
Independent
Funny, tragic and moving in all the right places
Pride

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