Zalika Reid-Benta on becoming the "weird writer" she's always wanted to be
"I thought this was a super-traditional book. And then I read a review—which you're not supposed to do, and it was not a good review, which is fine—they said, 'This is a weird book.' And I took that as a compliment, even though they gave it just one star.
I never thought I was a 'weird writer'—but I've always wanted to be one. So that's awesome! I'm glad this is a weird book."
Nathan spoke with novelist Zalika Reid-Benta, 2020 winner of the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for her debut book Frying Plantain, and author of the new novel River Mumma. It’s the story of a young woman named Alicia, who we meet at a time in her life when things are no longer going as well as they used to. Then Alicia meets a water deity named River Mumma who tasks her with recovering a precious object—and she’s got just 24 hours to do it.
River Mumma
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.
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