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ROOTLESS

Krystle Zara Appiah

ROOTLESS is a portrait of a British-Ghanaian marriage in crisis, as well as posing the question: can you ever really go home? It is the debut reading group novel by London Library Emerging Writer Krystle Zara Appiah.
ROOTLESS opens with Sam discovering that his wife, cEfe, has left him and their daughter and returned to Ghana. Sam is shocked their marriage was perfect. Or was it?

Best friends Efe and Sam meet as teenagers in 90s London. Efe is a new arrival in the UK from Ghana, sinking under the weight of her parents' expectations. Sam is focused and idealistic, taking his first steps towards a career in corporate law. Over the years that follow the best friends become lovers, then marry. But an unplanned pregnancy forces them to confront just how radically different they want their lives to be. Soon Efe is swallowed up by the demands of motherhood, the dreams for her life dangling from a thread. And when she leaves, disappearing one morning and leaving both Sam and their daughter behind, Sam's illusion of their perfect marriage crumbles. He's about to discover exactly who he's married to and the lengths he'll go to win her back.

Krystle Zara Appiah is a Ghanaian writer and screenwriter, born and raised in London. She has a degree in literature and creative writing from the University of Kent. In 2020, she was one of forty writers selected for the London Library's Emerging Writers Programme. She also works as a children's books editor. ROOTLESS is her debut novel.

Krystle's second novel, HINTERLANDS, will explore the complex and competitive relationships that can exist between sisters, plus the secrets lurking in a close-knit community.
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Published by The Borough Press

Book

Published by The Borough Press

Comments

Involving. paints a hard-hitting picture of how desperate it is to feel that what society insists is the best thing that can happen to you is, in fact, the absolute worst

Beautiful and gripping. unforgettable

Get ready to be heart-broken.

An open and honest exploration of the rediscovery of love, motherhood, and the choices we make and sacrifice

one to watch

Both tender and powerful; almost unbearably moving. It broke my heart

US: Ballantine, Netherlands: Signatuur

A heartbreaking tale about motherhood and freedom

Highly relatable... your heart will miss a beat

Brave, insightful and heart-breaking

Beat[s] Normal People at its own game

Skillfully told.

Powerful and bittersweet

Tender, intimate and unflinching

Mesmerising and tender

A debut novel that deserves to find many readers. a must-read