The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney, the debut novel by Okechukwu Nzelu, is out now from Jonathan Ball Publishers.

How do you begin to find yourself when you only know half of who you are?

The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney is a comic novel about Nnenna, a half-Nigerian teenager living in modern-day Manchester with her mother Joanie.

As Nnenna approaches womanhood she longs to connect with her Igbo-Nigerian culture. Her once close and tender relationship with her mother, Joanie, becomes strained as Nnenna begins to ask probing questions about her father, who Joanie refuses to discuss.

Nnenna is asking big questions of how to ‘be’ when she doesn’t know the whole of who she is. Meanwhile, Joanie wonders how to love when she has never truly been loved. Their lives are filled with a cast of characters asking similar questions about identity and belonging whilst grappling with the often hilarious encounters of everyday Manchester.

Okechukwu Nzelu brings us a funny and heart-warming story that covers the expanse of race, gender, class, family and redemption, with a fresh and distinctive new voice. Perfect for fans of Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams and Zadie Smith’s White Teeth.

‘A magnificent novel, full of wit, warmth and tenderness.’ – Andrew McMillan

‘Smart, serious and entertaining.’ – Bernardine Evaristo

‘Effortlessly capture[s] the tricky nuance of life, love, race, sexuality and familial relationships.’ – Candice Carty-Williams

‘Edifying and hilarious, The Private of Joys of Nnenna Maloney is a beautiful debut that you won’t want to put down.’ – Derek Owusu

About the author

Okechukwu Nzelu is a writer and teacher. He was born in Manchester in 1988, read English at Girton College, Cambridge and completed the Teach First programme. His work has been published in Agenda, PN Review, E-magazine and The Literateur and his essay ‘Troubles with God’ will be published in the anthology Safe: On Black British Men Reclaiming Space (Trapeze, 2019). In 2015 he was the recipient of a New Writing North Award for The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney, which is his debut novel.

Categories Fiction International

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