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In this stunning debut novel - a tale of self-discovery and feminist awakening - a feisty Nigerian-Ghanaian girl growing up amid the political upheaval of late 1960s postcolonial Ghana begins to question the hypocrisy of her patriarchal society, and the restrictions and unrealistic expectations placed on women.
Young Esi Agyekum is the unofficial "secret keeper" of her family, as tight-lipped about her father's adultery as she is about her half-sisters' sex lives. But after she is humiliated and punished for her own sexual exploration, Esi begins to question why women's secrets and men's secrets bear different consequences. It is the beginning of a journey of discovery that will lead her to unexpected places.
As she navigates her burgeoning womanhood, Esi tries to reconcile her own ideals and dreams with her family's complicated past and troubled present, as well as society's many double standards that limit her and other women. Against a fraught political climate, Esi fights to carve out her own identity, and learns to manifest her power in surprising and inspiring ways.
Funny, fresh, and fiercely original, The Teller of Secrets marks the American debut of one of West Africa's most exciting literary talents.
"Ghanaian author Adjapon's fierce feminist coming-of-age debut melds the personal and political amid the violent upheaval of 1970s Ghana...Sharp, observant, and often bitingly funny, Adjapon's novel captures a country divided by class, ethnicity, and political loyalty and a character who might have a chance to soar on the winds of social change. This is a winner." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Breathtaking...Esi ultimately takes control of her body, her mind, and her whole being in ways that will merit a fist pump among feminists everywhere." - Booklist (starred review)
"[T]he book's execution doesn't live up to its grand narrative ambition. A muddled coming-of-age story that pays lip service to the ideals of feminism." - Kirkus Reviews
"Melding blistering humor with razor-sharp insight, The Teller of Secrets heralds a marvel of a writer, one capable of deftly balancing questions of sexuality, politics, and feminism in a novel that is a pure joy to read. This book is impossible to put down. What an exciting, masterful novel by an uncommonly gifted writer." - Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow King, shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize
"Bisi Adjapon writes with incredible vividness and clarity. Her similes and attention to all of the senses are really extraordinary." - Dave Eggers, publisher of McSweeney's Quarterly Concern and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
"Bisi Adjapon has written a deeply compelling, humorous coming-of-age story. Esi Agyekum is brave, perceptive, and precocious; traits she needs to survive the oftentimes perilous journey that most African girls must take on their way to full womanhood. It is a testament to Adjapon's skill as a writer that the story is told with such vulnerability and sensitivity. An utterly captivating and entertaining read!" - Ama Ata Aidoo, author of Our Sister Killjoy and Changes, winner of the Commonwealth Prize Award for Best Book
This information about The Teller of Secrets was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: David Wilson
Bisi Adjapon is the author of The Teller of Secrets (first published as Of Women and Frogs), A Washington Post, Essence, ALA, Boston Globe, Ms Magazine's top 20 novel in November 2021. Her second novel, Daughter in Exile, was released January 2023. Her work has featured in publications including McSweeney's Quarterly, Aljazeera, New York Times and Washington Times.
Bisi founded and ran the Young Shakespeare company for four years in America, and, as an International Affairs Specialist for the US Foreign Service, won the Civil Rights Award for Human Relations.
Bisi divides her time between the USA and Ghana.
Link to Bisi Adjapon's Website
Name Pronunciation
Bisi Adjapon: BIH-see ad-juh-PAHN
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