Maame
2023 • 298 pages
Ratings25
Average rating3.9
15
Ratings25
Average rating3.9
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! • A Today Show #ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick "Sparkling." —The New York Times "An utterly charming and deeply moving portrait of the joys—and the guilt—of trying to find your own way in life." —Celeste Ng, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Our Missing Hearts "Lively, funny, poignant . . . Prepare to fall in love with Maddie. I did!" —Bonnie Garmus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi but in my case, it means woman. It’s fair to say that Maddie’s life in London is far from rewarding. With a mother who spends most of her time in Ghana (yet still somehow manages to be overbearing), Maddie is the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced stage Parkinson’s. At work, her boss is a nightmare and Maddie is tired of always being the only Black person in every meeting. When her mum returns from her latest trip to Ghana, Maddie leaps at the chance to get out of the family home and finally start living. A self-acknowledged late bloomer, she’s ready to experience some important “firsts”: She finds a flat share, says yes to after-work drinks, pushes for more recognition in her career, and throws herself into the bewildering world of internet dating. But it's not long before tragedy strikes, forcing Maddie to face the true nature of her unconventional family, and the perils—and rewards—of putting her heart on the line. Smart, funny, and deeply affecting, Jessica George's Maame deals with the themes of our time with humor and poignancy: from familial duty and racism, to female pleasure, the complexity of love, and the life-saving power of friendship. Most important, it explores what it feels like to be torn between two homes and cultures―and it celebrates finally being able to find where you belong. "Meeting Maame feels like falling in love for the first time: warm, awkward, joyous, a little bit heartbreaking and, most of all, unforgettable." —Xochitl Gonzalez, New York Times bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming
Reviews with the most likes.
This book was a pitch-perfect first generation BIPOC girl's experience in a nutshell complete with conservative religious family, parentification and resulting trauma. Yet, the tone was upbeat and fresh with excellent twists of dry humor throughout.
Innocent Maddie was so realistic and relatable as she struggled with familial love, romantic love and self-identity in modern London. The parade of racist micro-aggressions and unconscious bias also had me livid but also rooting for Maddie to stand up for herself and break free.
Beautifully written novel.
A story about growing up fast in a complicated family and discovering the ways of the world only to stumble onto some unpleasant experiences. This is a story of love, loss, regret, guilt, freedom, friendship, discovering oneself, standing up for oneself. A very raw story and if you have grown up in complicated family dynamics or if you have had someone close to you fall sick, you could relate. It is an inspirational story about finding yourself and your family while dealing with loss and regret. The little insights into why her family behaved the way they did at the end, sounded just like something out of real life. This book tackles some difficult themes with compassion, and I found myself in tears while reading this on a train. This is a perfect book for me, I think I might go back to this story once in a while.
This book was our February Book Club read. I didn't get to finish it until March, and after my dad died. That made this book hit quite a bit differently from when I started reading it, to when I finished it. I adored Maddie, as did the women in my book club. Although I missed the gathering, my dear friend Kelly gave me the group's thoughts on the story. We loved her journey and all that she encountered, her devastating lows and her well earned triumphs. Great debut novel. Highly recommend.
I enjoyed this book. Maddie is an earnest, funny narrator (we're not supposed to quote from ARCs, but there are many examples I could cite - you'll know what I mean if you read it!). She struck me as both younger and older than 25 at different moments during the story: she's fairly guileless and naive, but shouldering some serious responsibility.
While she loves her dad, who is sick with Parkinson's, she's increasingly tired of being the only one living at home and contributing to his care.
Many of Maddie's early actions are (IMO) frustratingly passive to the point that they strained credulity, but Maame is a story of her growth and evolution. While I do think this book is predictable, I don't think that's necessarily the point - to paraphrase a cliche, it's all about the journey, not so much the destination.
Overall, I think this is a solid debut, and I look forward to reading more by Jessica George.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my ARC.
