The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts

(Paperback, Main)

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'A beautiful ode to the power of storytelling, this novel is steeped in the folklore of the Caribbean and weaves a powerful narrative of identity, trauma, resilience and hope' Eleanor Shearer, author of River Sing Me Home

Zora and Sasha Porter don't know much of their Jamaican father Nigel's and Trinidadian mother Beatrice's pasts. What they do know: the mythic stories of Nigel's flight to America on the string of a purple balloon, the violent histories in Beatrice's book of Anansi Stories, that Nigel had a brother, once, and that Beatrice has a tangle of silvery scars on her back.

With their parents' marriage falling apart, the pair navigate their own relationships and secrets - Zora has impure thoughts about a jock, and Sasha drinks cheap beer with a girl who binds her chest.

A celebration of the power of stories, this startling debut presents a tale of slippery contradictions and an examination of the limits of resilience.

Reviews

'Sometimes characters are so lively and entertaining, you don't want to say goodbye to them. In wild, firecracker prose, Palmer whirls the reader into a realm where the real and unreal are constantly changing places. It's a stunning feat of storytelling in itself.' - Suzy Feay

'What happens to stories that are born of another land When they migrate multiple times and across multiple generations Soraya Palmer's ambitious and passionate debut, The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts, is a thoughtful exploration of these questions ... This is a book written with the gods of storytelling in mind; it highlights what stories can do - that it's not just the stories that evolve with each telling, but we ourselves who are rearranged too' - New York Times Book Review

'A brilliant, compelling exploration of familial legacies. A mythic and edifying read' - Irenosen Okojie, author of Speak Gigantular

'A beautiful ode to the power of storytelling, this novel is steeped in the folklore of the Caribbean and weaves a powerful narrative of identity, trauma, resilience and hope. Palmer's dynamic and sometimes playful prose had me hooked from the beginning and each character was rounded, nuanced and will stay with me long after reading' - Eleanor Shearer, author of River Sing Me Home

'An all-consuming novel about sisterhood, motherhood, belonging, loss, and self-discovery. Soraya Palmer's characters are unparalleled and her prose is musical. Read this novel with a sibling, a cousin, or a very close friend' - De'Shawn Winslow, author of In the West Mills and winner of Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize

Author Bio

Soraya Palmer was born and raised in Flatbush, Brooklyn, NYC with roots in Trinidad and Jamaica. She works in Youth Organizing and holds a BA in Africana Studies an M.F.A. in Fiction. Her work has been published in Ploughshares, Callaloo, Black Warrior Review, and Calyx. This is her first novel.