A Lifestyle Blog by Mwahaki King

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Monday 5 August 2019

A Masterclass in Sacrifice & Self-Discovery: Nicole Dennis-Benn’s Second Novel Shines


Nationally celebrated novelist, Nicole Dennis-Benn is back with a gripping new novel! This time it is the tumultuous tale of Patsy (PATSY, Liveright Hardcover $26.95, 432pp, ISBN: 978-1-63149-563-2); a Jamaican woman who has finally received her long-held dream of a visa to America. She intends to use this visa as an opportunity to escape the poverty that surrounds her in a Kingston ghetto and reunite with her oldest friend-turned-lover Cicely; who left the island years before under a shroud of mystery. However, this escape plan does not include Patsy’s five year old daughter, Tru. 

“She squeezes her daughter in a tight embrace, wishing she could be satisfied with the simple pleasure of feeling the sun on her eyelids and the embrace of her daughter. But as she inhales the smell of Blue Magic hair oil she uses in Tru’s hair, which mingles with the smell of beef patties and exhaust fumes from the traffic, and as she listens to the sounds of rush hour on Half-Way Tree Road clamoring around them, Patsy only feels her secret yearning for more deepening. (pp.32-33)


Wednesday 13 February 2019

Valentine’s Day Reading: A Review of Josie Silver’s “One Day in December”


Photo Credit: Mwahaki King Photography
Now you may be wondering why I would recommend a book for Valentine’s Day if it has December in the title, but trust me Josie Silver’s debut novel is full of enough charm, realism and tender moments to melt even the iciest hearts this Valentine’s Day. Across London, Scotland, Bali and Australia, we follow the friendship and foibles of Laurie, Jack and Sarah for almost ten years. While the central story is an emotional connection between Laurie and Jack with the romantic fervour to rival Love Actually;“One Day in December” is so much more than a simple love story. It is a highly relatable tale of one’s twenties, wherein Silver expertly addresses the themes of friendship, change and overall turbulence the decade carries in shaping the people we become.