Pride and Joy (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781668012819)

Black Cake meets Death at a Funeral in this heartwarming and hilarious novel about three generations of a Nigerian Canadian family grappling with their matriarch's sudden passing while their auntie insists that her sister is coming back--from an author with a "razor-sharp, smart, and tender" (Nafiza Azad, author of The Wild Ones) voice.

Joy Okafor is overwhelmed. Recently divorced, a life coach whose phone won't stop ringing, and ever the dutiful Nigerian daughter, Joy has planned every aspect of her mother's seventieth birthday weekend on her own.

As the Okafors slowly begin to arrive, Mama Mary goes to take a nap. But when the grandkids go to wake her, they find that she isn't sleeping after all. Refusing to believe that her sister is gone-gone, Auntie Nancy declares that she has had a premonition that Mama Mary will rise again like Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday.

Desperate to believe that they're about to witness a miracle, the family overhauls their birthday plans to welcome the Nigerian Canadian community, effectively spreading the word that Mama Mary is coming back. But skeptical Joy is struggling with the loss of her mother and not allowing herself to mourn just yet while going through the motions of planning a funeral that her aunt refuses to allow.

Filled with humor and flawed, deeply relatable characters that leap off the page, Pride and Joy will draw you in as the Okafors prepare for a miracle while coming apart at the seams, praying that they haven't actually lost Mama Mary for good, and grappling with what losing her truly means for each of them.

Author: Louisa Onomé
ISBN-10: 1668012812
ISBN-13: 9781668012819
Publisher: Atria Books
Language: English
Published: 03/12/2024
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 1.30d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 01/15/2024
Booklist 01/01/2024 pg. 27
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2024