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.”

Gaines Award for Literary ExcellenceĪ New York Times Book Review Editor's ChoiceĪ New York Magazine Best Book of the YearĪ Best Book of October: TIME, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Ms.Ī Most Anticipated Book of 2021: The Millions, Lit HubĪ Most Anticipated Book of the Fall: New York, The Boston Globe 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.Ī New York Times Critics’ Top Book of the YearĪ Finalist for the Ernest J. Dalloway and Sula, as well as Audre Lorde’s Zami, Asali Solomon’s The Days of Afrekete is a deft, expertly layered, naturally funny, and deeply human examination of two women coming back to themselves at midlife. But as the day wears on, memories of Liselle begin to shift Selena’s path. 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. The only time she was ever really happy was with Liselle, back in college. 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. 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?Īcross 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. Then an FBI agent calls to warn her that Winn might be facing corruption charges. 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. Liselle Belmont is having a dinner party. “I didn't feel like I was reading this novel-I felt like I was living it.” -Ann Patchett, author of The Dutch Houseįrom award-winning author Asali Solomon, The Days of Afrekete is a tender, surprising novel of two women at midlife who rediscover themselves-and perhaps each other, i nspired by Mrs.

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