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Backstitch

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Backstitch

By: Idrissa Simmonds-Nastili
Narrated by: Melinda Sewak
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'A powerful and wise novel . . . read this now' – Crystal Hana Kim, author of If You Leave Me

Before the little girl became a Missing Child, she was Jouvay Marcelin from Flatbush . . .

1996. Serenity Marcelin is still reeling from the recent loss of her beloved mother when she agrees to take her six-year-old daughter, Jouvay, to carnival.

There, in the pulsing heat of the crowd, Serenity loses her grip on Jouvay's hand for a second, and the little girl disappears into the night.

Close to losing hope, the arrival of an ancestral ghost in her small apartment convinces Serenity that the key to this mystery lies in her family's shocking past . . .

Told through three generations of the Marcelin family, and moving from Haiti during the US occupation to the vibrant streets of New York, Backstitch weaves together the intimate secrets of a family with the sweeping history of a nation.

'A novel of extraordinary tenderness' – Nina McConigley, author of How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder

 20th Century African American Historical Fiction World Literature
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Critic reviews

A tremendous feat that left me with chills. Backstitch is a powerful and wise novel . . . Simmonds-Nastili weaves a complex, thrilling tale about the strength of sisterhood and brilliantly ties it to Haitian spiritual traditions. Read this now (Crystal Hana-Kim, author of The Stone Home)
Tender, lyrical, and quietly powerful, this debut is a magnificent story, marvelously told. Multilayered and multigenerational, Backstitch balances vast historical scope with the intimacy of a love story. This novel asks us to consider what we carry forward, what we leave behind, and how we stitch ourselves back together (Nina McConigley, author of How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder)
An intricate telling of mothering, child loss, migration, grief, duppy, water, and memory’s unyielding power. Idrissa Simmonds-Nastili joins this generation's frontline of lush-languaged storytellers, and we are better for it (Mahogany L. Browne, author of A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe)
An expertly crafted multigenerational epic, a remarkable rendition of Haitian cosmology . . . Simmonds-Nastili has placed herself solidly on the map as one of the great Haitian-American novelists of our time. Prepare yourself for a thrilling physical and metaphysical ride! (Chinelo Okparanta, author of Under the Udala Trees)
Backstitch is a wholly original take on the eternal question of mothers and daughters. This book uses the history of Caribbean people and our diaspora to take readers to some place entirely new and alive. Idrissa Simmonds-Nastili has written a generational epic for our time—what a gorgeous rendering of what it means to live as women (Kaitlyn Greenidge, author of We Love You, Charlie Freeman)
I’ve been carrying Backstitch around with me, as if it were a newborn. Not wanting to place it down because the lives woven together feel so delicate and beautiful. Needing to read the story and be immersed in the worlds carefully crafted Simmonds-Nastili. A debut of formidable proportions (Kelechi Okafor, author of Awakened)
Simmonds-Nastili’s storytelling is all the beautiful things — lush and magical. Beautiful and surreal. So excited for this novel in the world! (Jacqueline Woodson, author of Red at the Bone)
Backstitch is a novel of assured storytelling, deep knowing, and unforgettable characters. As Idrissa Simmonds-Nastili follows generations of the Marcelin family from both sides of the grave, what emerges is a celebration of Haitian culture and belief systems, and a multi-layered meditation on motherhood, motherlands, and migration. This novel is an astounding work of imagination, a true literary tour de force (Angela Flournoy, author of The Wilderness)
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