In celebration of Black History Month, we’ll be highlighting a diverse range of books – poetry, novels, memoirs and more – all written by Black American authors. Each of these works moved, engaged, delighted, enraged, and excited Island Free Library readers’ this past year, and we’ll be featuring one title every day through the month of February.
Today’s work is Asali Solomon’s The Days of Afrekete, part novel of manners, part class satire, always engaging and probing into the nuances of relationships.
The Days of Afrekete opens with a dinner party, and moves back and forth between past and present as two middle-age friends try to reckon with the fallout of their present life choices, and how to get back to the lives they want – and each other.
Asali Solomon is the author of two novels, a collection of short stories, and her work has appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine, Vibe, Essence, and The Paris Review Daily, among many others. Solomon teaches writing and literature of the African diaspora at Haverford College, and she lives and writes in her hometown of Philadelphia. Stay tuned for a new book tomorrow!
