Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo

 

Anna is a woman in her forties, living in London.  She is adrift.  Her daughter is grown and doesn't need her as she once did.  She and her husband have separated due to his infidelity and Anna isn't sure if she should go through with a divorce.  Her mother, who raised her alone has recently died.  Anna is the child of a white mother and an African father but her father returned to Africa before she was born and she never met him or knew much about him.

Cleaning out her mother's house to put it on the market, she comes across a box of her mother's mementos.  Within it, Anna finds her father's diary of his time in England.  Entranced, she reads it and decides that with the money from the sale of her mother's house, she will go to Africa and find him if he is still alive.

Researching him, she finds some of his friends and acquaintances from that time in London.  She also discovers that after he returned, he joined a resistance group that overthrew the government and that he became the first African President of their small country.  Some would say he was a dictator and there are rumors of deaths associated with him.  Others praise him and point to his accomplishments during his time as the head of government.

When Anna finally meets him, she is not sure what to think.  One day he ignores her, the next he takes her to various sites in the country that have meaning for him and that he wants to share with her.  She meets some of his children, a half sister who is a judge and a half brother.  One welcomes her, one is suspicious of her and believes she is out to get something from their father.  Through it all, Anna tries to figure out who her father really is so that she can decide who she really is.

This novel was a Reece Book Club Pick along with other accolades.  I listened to this novel and the narrator was perfect with the various accents of the people in Anna's life.  The book explores themes of colonialism and whether those who overthrow governments end up any better.  It follows Anna as she tries to fill in the blanks of her family life and to decide if she wants to incorporate her African family into her life.  It also follows her journey for self determination and how finding out who we are can happen at any age.  This book is recommended for readers interested in family and multicultural stories.