Daughter
By Asha Bandele

In 1999 Bandele published a memoir called The Prisoner's Wife, which I loved, and this is her first work of fiction. It's about a mother and a daughter and breaking the silence that divides them. After a tragic accident, the mother is catapulted into grief, and she begins to recollect her own adolescence. The book is about the powerful love between a parent and a child. My oldest daughter, who's now 14, and I are very close, and we had the same reaction; we think it's the best book we've read in a long time. Bandele loves words and the way they come together. This story is compelling and powerful and meaningful and keeps you thinking. I want her books to last, so I only let myself read a few pages at a time. I tell people that reading her work is like strolling through a forest where you just want to take your time and look at every leaf.