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Stories
by Funmi Fetto
In this debut story collection, British-Nigerian arts and culture writer Funmi Fetto reveals the complexities of African diasporic womanhood, building worlds in which African women write and rewrite the narratives that shape their existence.
From a Nigerian migrant worker conned out of her earnings in London to a recently widowed housewife rediscovering her suppressed African heritage, a long-suffering wife who poisons her husband to a woman whose family secrets endanger her upcoming marriage, Hail Mary illuminates the private lives of Nigerian women in ten searing stories of longing and belonging, survival and triumph, death and rebirth each featuring a very different Nigerian woman at a crossroads.
"Hail Mary, Funmi Fetto's immersive story collection, is an unflinching observation of how people and systems claiming culture, tradition or religion conspire to lock girls and women in oppressive cycles. It is a forceful reminder that we are full of grace—so much more than our sexuality, social station, looks, fertility, or marital status. And it is a prayer of the searching soul for true Godly relief." —Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, author of My Parents' Marriage: A Novel
"Immersive, captivating, and sharply written, Hail Mary fearlessly tackles the taboo, holding up a bold and unflinching mirror. Each woman's story is richly drawn and deeply compelling—I found myself caring about them all, flaws and all." —Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, the New York Times bestselling author of, Yinka, Where is Your Huzband?
"Funmi's inspired stories are captivating, wholly original, and filled with vivid, unforgettable portraits of Black women. Once you start reading, you won't want to put it down. It's beautiful, potent, and necessary." —Kenya Hunt, author of Girl: Essays on Black Womanhood
This information about Hail Mary 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.
Funmi Fetto is a London-based journalist and editor, and is currently the Style Editor at British Vogue. She is the former Global Editorial Director at Service95, the publishing venture founded by Dua Lipa. As a digital and print journalist, she has worked and written for numerous publications and organizations including Glamour.com, Vanity Fair, InStyle, Sunday Times Style, Guardian and Tatler.
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