Cassava Republic has declared the availability of Christie Watson’s novel “Tiny Sunbirds”. Christie won the Costa Award for New Novel,and according to Cassava Republic, it’s “a beautifully-written coming of age story set in the Niger Delta, about what it means to be human in a world of greed and corruption”.
Helon Habila, winner of the Commonwealth Prize, author of Oil on Water, Waiting for an Angel and Measuring Time says this about the book:
“Christie Watson’s debut novel, set in the troubled Niger Delta, does what fiction does best, it captures place and characters so well that you feel you are also there. It is sincere, it is powerfully written, and it deserves to be read”
A father walks out on his family, which causes his daughter and son (Blessing and Ezekiel), to relocate to the rural side outside Warri, from the bustling Lagos life. Life in the country side is hard, no electricity, pipe borne water, or school. Grandfather Alhaji, is an ardent believer in the healing properties of Marmite, while Grandma has a profession kept under wraps… but there’s Alhaji’s new wife, Celestine, who loves vain things. As Blessing settles into this new life, her brother on the other hand finds himself being lured into the world of the local milita…
It certainly is a must read…