Overview

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 'Vivid and empowering' GILLIAN ANDERSON 'A stunning book’ BERNARDINE EVARISTO ‘Dazzling’ TARA WESTOVER ‘A story about hope, imagination and resilience’ GUARDIAN An award-winning, inspiring memoir of family, education and resilience. Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where luxury hotels line pristine white sand beaches, Safiya Sinclair grew up guarding herself against an ever-present threat. Her father, a volatile reggae musician and strict believer in a militant sect of Rastafari, railed against Babylon, the corrupting influence of the immoral Western world just beyond their gate. To protect the purity of the women in their family he forbade almost everything. Her mother did what she could to bring joy to her children with books and poetry. But as Safiya’s imagination reached beyond its restrictive borders, her burgeoning independence brought with it ever greater clashes with her father. Soon she realised that if she was to live at all, she had to find some way to leave home. But how? How to Say Babylon is an unforgettable story of a young woman’s determination to live life on her own terms. A Guardian and Observer summer read. ‘I adored this book … Unforgettable’ ELIF SHAFAK ‘Electrifying’ OBSERVER ‘To read it is to believe that words can save’ MARLON JAMES ‘Breathless, scorching’ NEW YORK TIMES

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9780008491321

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Reviews

‘An electrifying memoir’ OBSERVER ‘A story about hope, imagination and resilience’ GUARDIAN 'Vivid and empowering' GILLIAN ANDERSON ‘Heart-stoppingly gripping’ BERNARDINE EVARISTO ‘Dazzling’ TARA WESTOVER ‘Glimmering … laced with poetic voice’ TIME ‘Clear-eyed and courageous’ GUARDIAN ‘A breathless, scorching memoir’ NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW ‘Electrifying’ SPECTATOR ‘Lushly observed’ WASHINGTON POST ‘Stirring' ELLE ‘To read it is to believe that words can save’ MARLON JAMES ‘Unforgettable, mesmerising, heartbreaking and heartwarming' ELIF SHAFAK ‘Powerful … moving’ EVENING STANDARD ‘Sinclair's lush, lyrical language makes everything feel alive’ RAVEN LEILANI ‘A memoir of liberation’ IRISH TIMES ‘Stunningly written’ iNEWS ‘An instant contemporary Caribbean classic’ MONIQUE ROFFEY ‘Atmospheric and completely absorbing’ DIANA EVANS ‘Essential’ JESMYN WARD ‘Gut-wrenching, soul-stirring, electrifying’ NICOLE DENNIS-BENN ‘Immersive, imagistic, honest’ RAYMOND ANTROBUS ‘Destined to become a feminist classic’ LISA ALLEN-AGOSTINI ‘Heart-warming, tender and fierce’ LILY DUNN

‘An electrifying memoir’ Observer ‘A story about hope, imagination and resilience’ Guardian ‘Glimmering … laced with poetic voice’ Time ‘A breathless, scorching memoir’ New York Times Book Review ‘Electrifying’ Spectator ‘A stirring account of one woman’s break from the parameters imposed on her’ Elle ‘A narrative marvel … To read it is to believe that words can save’ Marlon James, author of A Brief History of Seven Killings ‘Unforgettable, mesmerising, heartbreaking and heartwarming … One of the best memoirs in world literature’ Elif Shafak, author of The Island of Missing Trees ‘Sinclair's lush, lyrical language makes everything feel alive’ Raven Leilani, author of Luster ‘Full of courage and poetry … an instant contemporary Caribbean classic’ Monique Roffey, author of The Mermaid of Black Conch ‘Atmospheric and completely absorbing … A fascinating story lushly told’ Diana Evans, author of A House for Alice ‘Essential … Sinclair’s devotion to language has been lifelong, and How to Say Babylon is the result’ Jesmyn Ward, author of Sing, Unburied, Sing ‘Gut-wrenching, soul-stirring, electrifying’ Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Here Comes the Sun ‘Immersive, imagistic, honest … A quiet testimony, a loud prayer and a large gift’ Raymond Antrobus, author of All the Names Given ‘Destined to become a feminist classic’ Lisa Allen-Agostini, author of The Bread the Devil Knead ‘Heart-warming, tender and fierce’ Lily Dunn, author of Sins of My Father ‘Beautifully rendered and an incredible story’ Natasha Trethewey, author of Memorial Drive ‘A story with radiant transformative power. I couldn’t put it down’ Nadia Osuwu, author of Aftershocks ‘Stunning’ Imani Perry, author of South to America

Author Information

Safiya Sinclair was born and raised in Montego Bay, Jamaica. She is the author of Cannibal, winner of a Whiting Writers' Award, the American Academy of Arts and Letters' Metcalf Award in Literature, the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Poetry, and the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, The Nation, Poetry and elsewhere. She is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Arizona State University.

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