The Edge of Water
Olufunke Grace Bankole
(Author)
21,000+ Reviews
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Description
In Ibadan, Nigeria, a mother receives a divination that foretells danger for her daughter in America. In spite of this warning, she allows her to forge her own path, and Amina arrives in New Orleans filled with hope. But just as Amina begins to find her way, a hurricane threatens to destroy the city, upending everything she'd dreamed of and the lives of all she holds dear. Years later, her daughter is left with questions about the mother she barely knew, and the family she has yet to discover in Nigeria.
Exploring the love of a determined mother and dreaming daughter who do not say enough to each other until it is too late, the detangling of Yoruba Christianity, traditional religion, and folklore, and the tellings of three generations of daring women--through times of longing, promise, and romance, as well as heartbreak--Olufunke Grace Bankole's The Edge of Water is a luminous debut novel about a young woman brave enough to leave all she knows behind, and the way her fate transforms a family destined to stay together.
Product Details
| Publisher | Tin House Books |
| Publish Date | February 04, 2025 |
| Pages | 272 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Paperback / softback |
| EAN/UPC | 9781963108057 |
| Dimensions | 8.6 X 5.4 X 0.8 inches | 0.6 pounds |
About the Author
Olufunke Grace Bankole is a Nigerian American writer. A graduate of Harvard Law School, and a recipient of a Soros Justice Advocacy Fellowship, her work has appeared in various literary journals, including Ploughshares, Glimmer Train Stories, AGNI, Michigan Quarterly Review, New Letters, The Antioch Review, and Stand Magazine. She won the first-place prize in the Glimmer Train Short-Story Award for New Writers, and was the Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Scholar in Fiction at the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. She has been awarded an Oregon Literary Fellowship in Fiction, a Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation grant, a residency-fellowship from the Anderson Center at Tower View, and has received a Pushcart Special Mention for her writing. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
Reviews
"An important book."-- "The Louisiana Advocate"
Innovative...This debut is a success.-- "Library Journal"
A mother and daughter story about a Nigerian family navigating life that explores the idea of love and sacrifice.-- "Bloggess"
A provocative story of mothers, daughters, and adopted family on both sides of the Atlantic.-- "Pen America"
About motherhood and daughterhood, romance and heartbreak. It shares a unique perspective on the Nigerian immigrant experience in America and tackles questions around reputation and belonging; around what one deserves and what one has the right to pursue.-- "Willamette Week"
Beautiful.-- "Scary Mommy"
Captivating. . . . lingers on moments of hope and beauty ultimately telling a powerful story of mother-daughter love.-- "Oprah Daily, A Best Book of February"
Emotionally resonant. . . . feels unexpectedly timely.-- "Chicago Review of Books"
Gets into Yoruba beliefs--both Christian and traditional--mother/daughter dynamics, and folklore. It'll even give you a cackle or two.-- "Book Riot"
Gorgeously written. Every word is like silk.-- "Debutiful, A Best Book of February"
Reckons with the collision of tradition, free will, and the devastation of a historic storm.-- "Electric Literature"
Ambitious. . . . Olufunke Grace Bankole doubles back to explore mother-daughter relationships, Nigerian folklore, Yoruba Christianity, and the almost unbelievable courage at the core of the immigrant experience.-- "Goodreads, A Hottest Debut Novel of 2025"
Beautiful. . . . this is one to savor.-- "Publishers Weekly, Starred Review"
Stunning.-- "The Republic, A Most Anticipated Book by African Writers for 2025"
A global, multigenerational novel suffused with heart, feeling, devastation, and hope.-- "Kirkus Reviews"
A powerful and emotional debut novel that deftly explores the complexities of identity, family, and belonging.-- "Booklist, Starred Review"
An aching novel about lost connections and misunderstandings in which Nigerian women attempt to reconcile with each other and their experiences.-- "Foreword Reviews, starred review"
The Edge of Water is a beautifully realized epic tale following the lives of three generations of women across two continents. Bankole expertly explores tenderness and heartache without sentimentality. This is a stunning addition to the canon of diasporic tales.--Maurice Carlos Ruffin, author of The American Daughters
An artfully constructed, beautifully told, and utterly moving book. A thrilling debut.--Jami Attenberg, author of A Reason to See You Again
In exploring what happens when we reject our given paths, The Edge of Water asks the deepest questions of us. Olufunke Grace Bankole's marginalized characters navigate heartbreak and hardship within communities that dehumanize them, but Bankole restores their humanity on the page in ways that reshaped me. Despite seeming trapped by adversity, they refuse to passively accept their fates; in this story, survival is not merely a physical question but also a spiritual one. I was gripped by this brilliant and fascinating take on Greek tragedy, employing Yoruba mythology, finding it both humbling and extraordinary, elegiac and inspiriting. Bankole moves from truth to shattering truth giving her characters the empathy and attention we all deserve. I savored every line of the arresting prose and ended this book yearning for more from this incredibly talented writer.--Vanessa Walters, author of The Nigerwife
Innovative...This debut is a success.-- "Library Journal"
A mother and daughter story about a Nigerian family navigating life that explores the idea of love and sacrifice.-- "Bloggess"
A provocative story of mothers, daughters, and adopted family on both sides of the Atlantic.-- "Pen America"
About motherhood and daughterhood, romance and heartbreak. It shares a unique perspective on the Nigerian immigrant experience in America and tackles questions around reputation and belonging; around what one deserves and what one has the right to pursue.-- "Willamette Week"
Beautiful.-- "Scary Mommy"
Captivating. . . . lingers on moments of hope and beauty ultimately telling a powerful story of mother-daughter love.-- "Oprah Daily, A Best Book of February"
Emotionally resonant. . . . feels unexpectedly timely.-- "Chicago Review of Books"
Gets into Yoruba beliefs--both Christian and traditional--mother/daughter dynamics, and folklore. It'll even give you a cackle or two.-- "Book Riot"
Gorgeously written. Every word is like silk.-- "Debutiful, A Best Book of February"
Reckons with the collision of tradition, free will, and the devastation of a historic storm.-- "Electric Literature"
Ambitious. . . . Olufunke Grace Bankole doubles back to explore mother-daughter relationships, Nigerian folklore, Yoruba Christianity, and the almost unbelievable courage at the core of the immigrant experience.-- "Goodreads, A Hottest Debut Novel of 2025"
Beautiful. . . . this is one to savor.-- "Publishers Weekly, Starred Review"
Stunning.-- "The Republic, A Most Anticipated Book by African Writers for 2025"
A global, multigenerational novel suffused with heart, feeling, devastation, and hope.-- "Kirkus Reviews"
A powerful and emotional debut novel that deftly explores the complexities of identity, family, and belonging.-- "Booklist, Starred Review"
An aching novel about lost connections and misunderstandings in which Nigerian women attempt to reconcile with each other and their experiences.-- "Foreword Reviews, starred review"
The Edge of Water is a beautifully realized epic tale following the lives of three generations of women across two continents. Bankole expertly explores tenderness and heartache without sentimentality. This is a stunning addition to the canon of diasporic tales.--Maurice Carlos Ruffin, author of The American Daughters
An artfully constructed, beautifully told, and utterly moving book. A thrilling debut.--Jami Attenberg, author of A Reason to See You Again
In exploring what happens when we reject our given paths, The Edge of Water asks the deepest questions of us. Olufunke Grace Bankole's marginalized characters navigate heartbreak and hardship within communities that dehumanize them, but Bankole restores their humanity on the page in ways that reshaped me. Despite seeming trapped by adversity, they refuse to passively accept their fates; in this story, survival is not merely a physical question but also a spiritual one. I was gripped by this brilliant and fascinating take on Greek tragedy, employing Yoruba mythology, finding it both humbling and extraordinary, elegiac and inspiriting. Bankole moves from truth to shattering truth giving her characters the empathy and attention we all deserve. I savored every line of the arresting prose and ended this book yearning for more from this incredibly talented writer.--Vanessa Walters, author of The Nigerwife
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