Beautiful, raw, thought-provoking, intricate, poignant, interesting, heavy, and ambitious: I loved this story. It snuck up on me. Deeply adored the characters, felt enraptured by Sierra Leone, and fell in love with the weighted, direct nature of the narration. Everything about the book spoke love, nostalgia— the trauma of feeling— from the title to the descriptions to the images evoked. Not without its horrors, Forna tells of rebel violence and resulting PTSD with grace and honesty. Family saga with evolving and surprise connected storylines. Raw and wrenching at times but won my heart ten times over. Gorgeous, gorgeous read from an importance voice I want never to forget. Highly recommend.