River Mumma
A Breathtaking Fantasy Novel Brimming with Magical Realism
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
“River Mumma is a love letter to culture, home, and coming of age—and will spark important, relevant book club conversations, too.” —Marissa Stapley, New York Times bestselling author of Lucky
Issa Rae’s Insecure with a magical realist spin: River Mumma is an exhilarating contemporary fantasy novel about a young Black woman who navigates her quarter-life-crisis while embarking on a mythical quest through the streets of Toronto.
Alicia has been out of grad school for months. She has no career prospects and lives with her mom, who won’t stop texting her macabre news stories and reminders to pick up items from the grocery store.
Then, one evening, the Jamaican water deity, River Mumma, appears to Alicia, telling her that she has twenty-four hours to scour the city for her missing comb.
Alicia doesn’t understand why River Mumma would choose her. She can’t remember all the legends her relatives told her, unlike her retail co-worker Heaven, who can reel off Jamaican folklore by heart. She doesn’t know if her childhood visions have returned, or why she feels a strange connection to her other co-worker Mars. But when the trio are chased down by malevolent spirits called duppies, they realize their tenuous bonds to each other may be their only lifelines. With the clock ticking, Alicia’s quest through the city broadens into a journey through time—to find herself and what the river carries.
Energetic and invigorating, River Mumma is a vibrant exploration of diasporic community and ancestral ties, and a homage to Jamaican storytelling by one of the most invigorating voices in today’s literature.
“This quirky, fizzy, charming debut surprises and amuses. Reid-Benta writes beautifully, drawing on Caribbean mythologies to create a fast paced and entertaining tale. It's rare to find a novel written with such humour and heart.” —T. L. Huchu, USA Today Bestselling author of The Library of the Dead
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
We love this bewitching modern fantasy that revolves around a young woman’s journey of self-discovery. Alicia is having trouble turning the promise she showed in grad school into real-world success as a writer. But Alicia’s career woes take a back seat when she’s visited by the Jamaican water deity River Mumma, who tasks Alicia with finding her stolen comb by the end of the next day. Navigating through the streets of downtown Toronto, Alicia’s adventure doesn’t just help her rediscover her heritage, it forces her to break out of her malaise and reconnect with the world around her. The dazzling touches of Caribbean folklore and magical realism keep Zalika Reid-Benta’s vibrant story moving forward, but she never loses sight of Alicia’s real mission: to find her own sense of purpose. This is a splendid story about ancestry, identity, and creativity.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Reid-Benta's stunning debut draws on Caribbean myth, horror, and old-school urban fantasy (think Charles de Lint, not Kelley Armstrong) to build a quest tale for the postpandemic generation of the region's diaspora. Alicia Gale is 26 and sulking through her underemployed days working retail while living with her mom in a Toronto apartment. Cut off from her Jamaican roots and her American education alike, she is wholly unprepared for the vision that confronts her on a cold night walk: River Mumma, spirit of the water, rising from the Humber River and demanding restoration of a comb that a tourist has stolen. If it is not returned to her, River Mumma will withdraw her waters. The next morning, Alicia and her friends Heaven and Mars endure a commute from hell, pursued by a violent duppy, or malevolent spirit. After that, there's no denying the truth of the mystical forces suddenly intersecting her life. Alicia has until sunset to return the comb or bear witness to ecological catastrophe. Into this simple plot are mixed elements from every stratum of a young adult's life, including heritage, family, neighborhood, work, school, pop culture, and more. It's a rich and sometimes even dizzying brew that marks the emergence of a powerful new voice.