The Rest of You

(Paperback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

An emotionally wrenching novel tackling key themes such as generational traumaand what it means to be Black British, surviving between the gaps of knowledgearound familial migrant journeys, set in today's London and Ghana in the mid-90s.

On the cusp of thirty, Ghanaian Londoner Whitney Appiah was born with a special gift. The massage therapist can physically sense where her clients' trauma lies and heal them. But Whitney has no idea that she too is suffering. Tragic events from her youth have left a terrible, unseen mark.

When a dangerous encounter with the man she's dating triggers a wave of fragmented recollections, Whitney embarks on a journey to reclaim her memories and the truth that is buried deep in her early years growing up in Kumasi, Ghana.

Spanning three decades, told through the viewpoints of Whitney, her aunts Gloria and Aretha, and their house help Maame Serwaa, The Rest of You explores what happens when we try to move forward through the lacuna of our past.

Reviews

Blue's evocative prose and keen insights make for a compelling read, inviting reflection on the nature of trauma and the quest for identity. This powerful story affirms Blue's place as a significant voice in contemporary literature -- Enobong Tommelleo * Booklist *
Maame Blue places vulnerability and emotional truth at the heart of this novel, interwoven between place, time and character. A sober meditation of how an individual's present is shaped by their collective past, The Rest is You is surprising and tender, precise and free-ranging. A novel of layers, heartfelt meaning, and revelation -- Courttia Newland, author of A River Called Time
A beautiful, compelling exploration of familial bonds, trauma and the secrets of the past. Maame Blue's tender, emotionally rich portrait of diasporic Black lives is a novel to return to. Highly recommended -- Irenosen Okojie, author of Hag
Gripping - you wonder what isn't being said, but you feel it anyway -- Gabriel Gbadamosi
Shuttling between Kumasi, Ghana and London, England, as well as between past and present, The Rest of You is a story of friendship, loss, trauma and hope, that explores multi-generational pain and the secrets and silences that families can fall into in a bid to move forward. The Rest of You is a quintessential immigrant story with a particular Black British twist, with its characters sometimes misremembering their roots, but shaped by them, their journey to completeness dependent on learning and accepting that history is their foundation, hybridity is their power and togetherness is their strength -- Nii Ayikwei Parkes, author of Azcar