The Dragonfly Sea
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Duckworth Books
Published:7th Jul '22
Should be back in stock very soon
A magical novel of love, exploration and home from one of Kenya's leading writers
This sensual, lyrical, immersive novel follows Ayaana's journey to adulthood after her Kenyan island childhood is interrupted; first by religious fundamentalists and secondly when Chinese emissaries claim her as a descendant and offer her a new life and education overseas.
'One of the most unforgettable books I have read in the last few years... What a writer! What a thinker! What a woman!' Fiammetta Rocco
'Lyrical, compassionate, and deeply original, it has stayed with me, and is the novel I have most enjoyed this year' Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland
The Dragonfly Sea follows the unforgettable Ayaana's journey to adulthood after her small-island childhood is interrupted. Targeted first by religious fundamentalists and second by Chinese emissaries, Ayaana is sent on a container ship to study in China, where she is forced to grow up fast.
With its epic scope and lush lyricism, Owuor evokes a fascinating kind of beauty in this dangerous, chaotic world and its ever-shifting oceans and trade. A transcendent story of love and adventure, and of the inexorable need for shelter in a dangerous world.
'Owuor's rich prose makes a pointed commentary about interconnectedness' C. A. Davids, Guardian
'A daring and compelling novel, evocative and lavishly detailed' Abdulrazak Gurnah, Nobel prize-winning author of Afterlives
'One of Africa's most exciting voices... The Dragonfly Sea is a continent-hopping novel of epic proportions' Refinery29
'The Dragonfly Sea transported me at a time I really wanted to be transported. Lyrical, compassionate, and deeply original, it has stayed with me, and is the novel I have most enjoyed this year' Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland
'One of the most unforgettable books I have read in the last few years... What a writer! What a thinker! What a woman!' Fiammetta Rocco
'A paean to both cultural diffusion and difference' New York Times Book Review
'Owuor writes in heart-stopping bursts of imagery and retooled language... gloriously unique' Vanity Fair
'This lushly written epic of contemporary cultural clashes and world politics is as magically enveloping as a fairy tale' People
'Moving, epic and transcendent, The Dragonfly Sea is a glorious tale that spans two continents, multiple cultures and the lives of endearing characters' Bad Form Review
'You will smell the sea, be swayed by its currents and feel the texture of the place with every flip of the page... It will transport you to other lands, and also break your heart. Thankfully, when the characters are reshaped by the waters and find themselves again, you will also patch yourself together... A mesmerizing rendering of a little talked about island and its people' The East African (Kenya)
'Unprecedented... The aptness of the descriptions, the exactness of geographies and the intricate histories of hurt tell of extensive research and very serious reading behind it... The Dragonfly Sea offers a new journey of liberation, discovery, reflection, interaction and even new imagination' Daily Nation (Kenya)
'People, music, languages sail back and forth; The Dragonfly Sea colourfully dips in and out of several languages... [a] lyrical and contemplative book’ Asian Review of Books
ISBN: 9781914613081
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
496 pages