The Strangers

A generous gift . . .The author inhabits the perspective of five figures, from Malcolm X to footballer Justin Fashanu, in this lyrical account of their lives, a thrilling affront to the archives that exclude them . . . Each chapter is absorbing, no matter how much you already know about each person * Observer *
Mesmerising. A book of creative non-fiction centred on important Black historical figures... Ekow Eshun brings them beautifully, movingly to life * Times Literary Supplement (Books of the Year 2024) *
An extraordinary feat of empathy. Innovative [and] intimate...this book is an act of rapprochement rendered with great emotional intelligence and tenderness. Remarkable * Guardian *
One for the intellectually curious. Eshun mixes biography and imagination to craft essays based on the lives of five Black men from history. Interspersed with thoughts about the author's own experiences as a Black man, the stories cross generations, and form part of a wider narrative about race, culture and historical amnesia -- Lola Young * Observer (Books of the Year 2024) *
Ekow Eshun is a genius. He holds a torch where institutions have refused to look and helps us all to see through shadows to the magnificent strangers. His writings on the Black aesthetic are unsurpassed – and my world is a better place because he is writing in it. This book will be referenced for years to come -- Lemn Sissay, author of 'My Name is Why'
This book is astounding. Told with a rigour and intimacy that only Ekow Eshun could conjure… In a world where Blackness is synonymous with death, The Strangers portrays scenes of beauty, of fullness – of just what it means to be alive' -- Caleb Azumah Nelson, author of 'Open Water'
Thrilling and ingenious, propulsive and genre-defying: The Strangers is an outstanding book. Ekow Eshun resurrects five pioneering figures, connecting them thematically to each other while constantly recalibrating the contexts around them, revealing wider global histories, cultures and patterns of power. Compelling and imaginatively expansive, this is something very special – creative non-fiction that inspires, stirs and challenges the reader -- Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of 'Girl, Woman, Other'
Beautiful, powerful and haunting, this book defies erasure with imagination and integrity -- Afua Hirsch, author of 'Brit(ish)'
Staggering. Outside of Baldwin himself, I can’t think of a creative approach to critique that hit me as hard as this. The storytelling, the archival work, the erudition and research behind it, the capacity for invention (down to the use of dialogue), and—one of my favourite aspects of this book—its singular, inventive use of form. It’s rare to read a book that’s so invigorating, intervening with freshness and new clarity in longstanding conversations; and that gives you such a striking new way of describing and seeing your own world. If this doesn’t become a classic, then I don’t know what ever could -- Jason Allen-Paisant, T. S. Eliot Prize-winning author of 'Self-Portrait as Othello'
The Strangers is diamantine – multifaceted, sharp and exceptionally bright. I was captivated by its vivid depiction of these five Black lives -- Doireann Ní Ghríofa