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Published Jul 2016
352 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
In this radiant, highly anticipated debut, a cast of unforgettable women battle for independence while a maelstrom of change threatens their Jamaican village.
Capturing the distinct rhythms of Jamaican life and dialect, Nicole Dennis- Benn pens a tender hymn to a world hidden among pristine beaches and the wide expanse of turquoise seas. At an opulent resort in Montego Bay, Margot hustles to send her younger sister, Thandi, to school. Taught as a girl to trade her sexuality for survival, Margot is ruthlessly determined to shield Thandi from the same fate. When plans for a new hotel threaten their village, Margot sees not only an opportunity for her own financial independence but also perhaps a chance to admit a shocking secret: her forbidden love for another woman. As they face the impending destruction of their community, each woman - fighting to balance the burdens she shoulders with the freedom she craves - must confront long-hidden scars.
From a much-heralded new writer, Here Comes the Sun offers a dramatic glimpse into a vibrant, passionate world most outsiders see simply as paradise.
"Starred Review. Haunting and superbly crafted, this is a magical book from a writer of immense talent and intelligence." - Kirkus
"The novel, with its knife fights and baroque blackmail schemes, often threatens to stray from operatic intensity to soap opera melodrama. But Dennis-Benn redeems it with her striking portrayal of a vibrant community where everyone is related and every action reverberates, and her unstinting description of how shame whips desire into submission." - Publishers Weekly
"Dennis-Benn reveals a sure hand, creating a world she knows well while offering intimate portraits of characters readers will care deeply about, even as their struggles lead to less-than-stellar choices. An impressive debut." - Booklist
"Not for the faint of heart, as the women are often unlikable and their circumstances dire, but readers and book clubs interested in complicated characters and challenging themes will appreciate this first novel." - Library Journal
"Here Comes the Sun, like its main character Margot, stuns at every turn, especially when you think you have it figured out. It's about women pushed to the edge, Jamaica in all its beauty and fury and more than anything else, a story that was just waiting to be told." - Marlon James, author of A Brief History of Seven Killings
"Nicole Dennis-Benn's exploration of Caribbean women's desires for themselves and each other is an important contribution to our literature." - Naomi Jackson, author of The Star Side of Bird Hill
"Nicole Dennis-Benn draws us so deeply into the fates of her unforgettable characters that we can't help but dream, suffer, celebrate, and grieve alongside them. Each page of this terrific debut vibrates with power, heart, and unflinching honesty, I couldn't put it down, yet didn't want it to end." - Mia Alvar, author of In the Country
"An indelible portrait of a woman in motion. Nicole Dennis-Benn has created in Margot a fierce and fearless striver. A fantastic debut." - Laila Lalami, author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Moor's Account
"In Here Comes The Sun, Nicole Dennis-Benn boldly takes on the emotional and psycho-social effects of colorism and classism, among other topics ... Nicole Dennis-Benn has written a book that is full of culture and crackling with life." - Chinelo Okparanta, author of Under the Udala Trees
This information about Here Comes the Sun was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Nicole Dennis-Benn has received fellowships from Hedgebrook, MacDowell, Lambda, and the Sewanee Writers Conference. Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, she lives with her wife in Brooklyn, New York, where she teaches writing. Her website is www.nicoledennisbenn.com.
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