I was kindly gifted this book by Saraband; thank you very much! This is an honest review and all opinions are my own.
Pages: 279
Genre: Fiction
Saraband: ISBN 9781912235766
Synopsis:
‘I’d always known that I was Brown. Black was different though; it came announced. Black came with expectations, of rhythm and other things that might trip me up.’
Imani is a foundling. Rescued as a baby and raised by nuns on a remote Northumbrian island, she grows up with an ever-increasing feeling of displacement. Full of questions, Imani turns to her shadow, Amarie, and her friend, Harold. When Harold can’t find the answers, she puts it down to what the nuns call her “greater purpose”.
At nineteen, Imani answers a phone call that will change her life: she is being called to Accra after the sudden death of her biological mother.
Past, present, faith and reality are spun together in this enthralling debut. Following her transition from innocence to understanding, Imani’s experience illuminates the stories we all tell to make ourselves whole.
My review:
“This is my story, which I share with you. If it be sweet, if it not be sweet, take some and share, and let some come back to me”
Castles from Cobwebs is a stunning debut about Imani – a young black girl raised by white nuns. As the one black person in this remote community, she is made so aware that she is different from everyone from a very young age. The only form of representation she had was a concealed magazine in which she hid a list of famous black dancers, and a painting of the Assumption of Mary, where Mary is depicted as a black woman. When she is 19 she gets a call letting her know her biological mother has died. Imani drops everything and goes to Ghana in search of her family and to understand her heritage and ultimately her identity.
The novel follows a non-linear narrative, split between Northumbria, Ghana and New York. Mensah does a fantastic job of making such a stark contrast between these separate stages of her life and how she grows and develops and as woman who learns to understand herself. She goes from a place where she is defined by her blackness and feels confused and isolated because of it to a place where she is so much more to her than her skin colour. In Ghana she is embraced into this world full of culture, history and rhythm, all shown through such poetic and lyrical writing. Surrounded by all this family she learns all out the life her mother lead, and about family traditions being passed over from past generations. The section is Ghana is so immersive and captivating and helped raise some important questions about race, faith and reality.
My absolute favourite thing is when her past and present interweave to the point that she is surrounded by other versions of herself. I love the fact that she is looking back over her life and seeing past versions of herself and reliving things we experienced for the first time with her in previous chapters. I feel like that is an amazing way of showing Imani’s growth and adds to this wonderful folklore storytelling element. Imani’s story paused the moment she was rescued as a baby, and reignited when she found her voice in Ghana. She is now able to tell her story, the story of her life and her culture, in her own way and on her own terms.
The story is spun out in a huge number of directions; over many immersive locations, multiple complex female characters spanning different cultures and generations, a literal journey across the world and a figurative one to discover herself. There is a lot going on and it was a bit confusing at first, however in the end, all the threads come together to form the perfect cobweb.
LiteraryLucie 
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