Beem explores Africa by Simidele Dosekun

In the heart of Nairobi, four musicians – The Diva, The Taliban Man, The Corporal and 70-year-old bartender Miriam – gather for a once in a lifetime competition, to see who can perform the best Tizita.

When he moved into the house his father left him, Adewale Maja-Pearce figured it wouldn’t be any problem to persuade the tenants to move out. After all, he had given them a year’s notice, rent free. But, as it unfolds in this book, it would cost him a lot more to take full possession of his inheritance.

An extraordinary debut novel, Freshwater explores the surreal experience of having a fractured self. It centers around a young Nigerian woman, Ada, who develops separate selves within her as a result of being born “with one foot on the other side.” Unsettling, heartwrenching, dark, and powerful, Freshwater is a sharp evocation of a rare way of experiencing the world, one that illuminates how we all construct our identities.