American-born artist Chris is forced to reconsider his own concept of "family" during a visit to his mother's Caribbean homeland."Thoroughly satisfying...This bighearted narrative of love, loss, and family is handled with grace and beauty."
--Publishers Weekly, STARRED review"A Million Aunties is an elegantly written and emotionally engrossing work of fiction."
--Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of Girl, Woman, Other"A Million Aunties gives us the stories of an unlikely cross-world community brought together by anguish, loss, difference, the healing gifts of art, and above all, the loves of women. Under her deceptively revealing title, Alecia McKenzie recreates Jamaica's enduring traditions in fresh and illuminating ways that make this one of the most avant-garde fictions I have read in a long time."
--Curdella Forbes, author of A Tall History of SugarAfter a personal tragedy upends his world, American-born artist Chris travels to his mother's homeland in the Caribbean hoping to find some peace and tranquility. He plans to spend his time painting in solitude and coming to terms with his recent loss and his fractured relationship with his father. Instead, he discovers a new extended and complicated "family," with their own startling stories, including a love triangle. The people he meets help him to heal, even as he supports them in unexpected ways, through his art.Told from different points of view, this is a compelling novel about unlikely love, friendship, and community, with several surprises along the way. The story takes place against the backdrop of rural Jamaica, New York City, and Paris, France.
American-born artist Chris is forced to reconsider his own concept of "family" during a visit to his mother's Caribbean homeland."Alecia McKenzie's tender new novel is] an emotionally resonant ode to adopted families and community resilience."
--New York Times Book Review"Delightfully original, this novel centers Chris, an American who travels to his mother's homeland of Jamaica to reflect and heal after tragedy strikes. What he encounters is unexpected, complicated and, perhaps, just what he needs."
--Ms. Magazine"Racial identity, nonfamilial relationships, and the restorative nature of art are all explored as McKenzie considers the possibility of regeneration of the human spirit even as we grapple with the tragedies of lost loves and changing worlds. McKenzie successfully integrates various speech patterns in Caribbe