Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⬜
Title: Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?
Author: Lizzie Damilola Blackburn
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Author Info: WOC
Setting: Peckham (South London, England
Month Read: January, 2022
Book Type: Hardcover
Publication: 2022
Pages: 384
*January BotM pick
TRIGGER WARNING-
Depression / Colorism / Grief /
"I need to get in touch with who I really am," I say. "Not try to be the person the world wants me to be"
No Spoiler Summary:
Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? is part contemporary fiction, part romance? You follow our lead, Yinka, as she navigates her early thirties void of the passion she is so longing for (and everyone else is embarrassingly longing for for her.) Imagine having a room full of people praying that you find a 'huzband' ---and fast!
Yinka is stuck at a job she doesn't love, mourning a relationship ended years before, and wondering when it will be her turn to get married, have kids, and enjoy the life everyone around her seems to be living. (Well, not everyone --- but most.) The novel is mostly centered around Yinka trying to find a date for her cousin's wedding thats 6 months away, but while we watch her try to achieve her goal, we watch missteps, embarassment, hilarity, sadness, and more within the 384 pages.
Will Yinka find a date to her cousin's wedding? Will she find a huzband? Will people stop publicly praying over her dating life? Well, to get answers you'll have to read and find out.
Review:
I'm really surprised how much I liked this novel, having just read a slightly similar book (Queenie) that I didn't really enjoy. Both books follow Black daughters-or-granddaughters- of immigrants through the London Metropolitan area- but the books tonally couldn't be more different. I think Yinka has such a fresh voice, and despite her failures, you really want to see her succeed by the end of the novel. I love that even at her most pessimistic moments, she still has faith, and she is never bogged down in how sorry she feels for herself. There were so many moments that I think any early something-year-old could see themselves in, especially parts that had nothing to do with the romance aspect of the novel.
The absolute BEST part of Yinka is the supporting characters. There are too many to list, but you know who each and every one of them is throughout the novel-- you never rack your brain trying to remember Auntie Blessing or Big Momma, Donovan or Femi, Nana or Ola-- everyone has such a clear voice, such a clear persona, and you feel like you know each and every one of them-- like you're there. I'd really love a book following Nana, who was probably my favorite throughout the entire novel- she had some of the best lines, and toed the line between being comic relief and a very serious, worried friend perfectly.
Last, but certainly not least- this book really focuses on the power of loving yourself, and I think that especially now this is such a poignant message. I know that postpartum I went through a lot and worked really hard to get back to a place where I felt comfortable in my body-- and a lot of Yinka's inner monologue just really hit me in ways I didn't expect. If anyone reads this book and doesn't have a therapist, they sure will by the end. It's such an important message to send, and furthermore sending the message how counseling and therapy are okay, and great, even- is wonderful. I'm so glad so many characters found what they needed through talking to someone.
Overall, if you like contemporary fiction mixed with a tiny bit of romance- I think this is a book for you. It feels like books I've read before and loved, but gave new life to this specific genre. I'd love to read anything Lizzie Damilola Blackburn writes next and I'm so grateful this was picked up by Book of the Month after all the hype I had been hearing about this. :)
Recommendation:
For books about finding your self worth & also stories of second/third generation immigrants-
Yolk - Mary H.K Choi
Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams
Sankofa - Chibundu Onuzo
For non-white romances:
The Kiss Quotient - Helen Hoang
Instructions for Dancing - Nicola Yoon
Loveboat, Taipei - Abigail Hing-Wen
The Henna Artist - Alka Joshi
"I realize how freeing it is to say what I think. To stand up for myself."