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To Fill a Yellow House
On sale
18th July 2022
Price: £19.99
Authors' Club Best First Novel Award, 2023
‘Heartbreaking, hopeful . . . nothing short of a joy’ Caleb Azumah Nelson, author of Open Water
Rupert’s eclectic charity shop, The Chest of Small Wonders, sits on an ever-changing high street in an ever-changing corner of London. He once had big dreams for the place, but times are tough, and without his beloved wife by his side he is close to giving up.
When lonely teenager Kwasi takes refuge in the shop, escaping school bullies and the watchful eyes of his extended family, the Chest becomes a place of possibility again. Man and boy unite to save the shop and an unexpected friendship begins, but as tensions escalate around them both Kwasi and Rupert must decide who their allies are and where their futures lie.
Lyrical, witty, moving and timely, To Fill a Yellow House is a story of community, friendship and the power of creativity and connection. It is as vibrant and surprising as the city it is set in and marks the arrival of a bright and bold new talent.
Rupert’s eclectic charity shop, The Chest of Small Wonders, sits on an ever-changing high street in an ever-changing corner of London. He once had big dreams for the place, but times are tough, and without his beloved wife by his side he is close to giving up.
When lonely teenager Kwasi takes refuge in the shop, escaping school bullies and the watchful eyes of his extended family, the Chest becomes a place of possibility again. Man and boy unite to save the shop and an unexpected friendship begins, but as tensions escalate around them both Kwasi and Rupert must decide who their allies are and where their futures lie.
Lyrical, witty, moving and timely, To Fill a Yellow House is a story of community, friendship and the power of creativity and connection. It is as vibrant and surprising as the city it is set in and marks the arrival of a bright and bold new talent.
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Reviews
A thought-provoking and stunning debut. Kwasi will break your heart.
A timely, unique and moving tale of inner city pressure.
Stunning . . . a lyrical meditation on city life, creativity and loss, and the hope that can spring from an unlikely friendship.
[A] vividly drawn and evocative debut novel.
Gorgeous . . . Textured, beautiful, all-engaging characters, a wonderfully realised setting, glorious prose - To Fill A Yellow House left me all warm with hope. What a debut.
Anie's skilful debut novel follows the development of an unlikely bond between a shopkeeper and a young boy in a hostile inner-city environment... it rings with such keen and resonant themes... Kwasi's voice is majestically narrated, folding in Anie's authorial drive with his own syncopated artistic sensitivity.
A gentle, thoughtful and moving meditation on London and what it means to belong. The characters have really stayed with me.
Deeply affecting and sensitively told, with a main character you will fall in love with, break your heart over, and fervently root for all the way to the last page, To Fill A Yellow House is a transporting and beautiful story that will stay with me for a long time. Original and tender, it is an exquisite, absorbing and buoyant story of vulnerability and companionship, the redemptive power of friendship, and the spaces we choose to belong. Sussie Anie is a master storyteller and readers will be thinking about and missing Kwasi long after the last triumphant page!
[An] evocative story of community and companionship.
I read Anie's novel slowly, savouring every delicate turn of language, every sentence which thrummed with emotion. Following Kwasi and Rupert through this novel was often heartbreaking, but left me hopeful too. Reading this was nothing short of a joy.