Housegirl: A Novel
Written by Michael Donkor
Narrated by Adjoa Andoh
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
"Adjoa Andoh performs much of Housegirl, Michael Donkor's accomplished, affecting debut novel, in sparkling Ghanaian English, immersing listeners in the world of Ghana and the Ghanaian diaspora." — BookPage
Nominated for the Edinburgh First Book Award
One of The Millions' "Most Anticipated Books of the Year"
One of The Guardian's "Best Summer Books"
A moving and unexpectedly funny exploration of friendship and family, shame and forgiveness, Michael Donkor's debut audiobook follows three adolescent girls grappling with a shared experience: the joys and sorrows of growing up.
Belinda knows how to follow the rules. As a housegirl, she has learned the right way to polish water glasses, to wash and fold a hundred handkerchiefs, and to keep a tight lid on memories of the village she left behind when she came to Kumasi.
Mary is still learning the rules. Eleven-years-old and irrepressible, the young housegirl-in-training is the little sister Belinda never had.
Amma has had enough of the rules. A straight-A student at her exclusive London school, she has always been the pride of her Ghanaian parents—until now. Watching their once-confident teenager grow sullen and wayward, they decide that sensible Belinda is the shining example Amma needs.
So Belinda must leave Mary behind as she is summoned from Ghana to London, where she tries to impose order on her unsettling new world. As summer turns to autumn, Belinda and Amma are surprised to discover common ground. But when the cracks in their defenses open up, the secrets they have both been holding tightly threaten to seep out.
Praise for Housegirl:
"[Narrator Adjoa Andoh's] creativity especially shines...This is an expertly told story of three interwoven lives." — AudioFile Magazine
“Donkor’s dense descriptions of life in Ghana and London capture the dazzling disorientation of a young village girl on her own. Compelling female characters abound" - Library Journal, starred review
Michael Donkor
Michael Donkor was born in London, to Ghanaian parents. He studied English at Wadham College, Oxford, undertook a Masters in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway and now teaches English Literature to secondary school students. Many of the issues in this novel are close to his heart, and his writing won him a place on the Writers’ Centre Norwich Inspires Scheme in 2014, where he received a year’s mentoring from Daniel Hahn.
Related to Housegirl
Related audiobooks
Even When Your Voice Shakes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Finding Love Again Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Teller of Secrets: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sister Mother Warrior: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Book of the Little Axe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cane Warriors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Patience Is a Subtle Thief: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Africaville: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Island of Forgetting: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daughter in Exile: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One Night in Georgia: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Sunday: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Running to Fall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love's Persuasion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In the Face of the Sun Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5'Til the Well Runs Dry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5New York, My Village Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions: A Novel in Interlocking Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Elevator Kiss Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Tall History of Sugar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Island Queen: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Palace of Flowers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Getting Our Breath Back Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLight Skin Gone to Waste: Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Seasons of Beento Blackbird Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saving Savannah Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dragons, the Giant, the Women: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No One Is Coming to Save Us: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Woman of Endurance: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Literary Fiction For You
Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Song of Achilles: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Demon Copperhead: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Yellowface: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bell Jar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Road Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House in the Cerulean Sea Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: A Hunger Games Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Measure: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tom Lake: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hate U Give Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Name of the Wind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Picture of Dorian Gray: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5CATCH-22 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kindred Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Parable of the Sower Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stardust Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Year of Magical Thinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nothing to See Here Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Future Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beneath a Scarlet Sky: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dutch House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hang the Moon: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Housegirl
3 ratings0 reviews