The Rest of You

I was floored by this novel. It is absolutely going to be in my top five of 2024 for sure.

It's such a beautiful and heartbreaking story of family, unknown and known, grief, trauma, and love. The shared perspectived were a wonderful insight into both generations of women whom we got to know throught the book.

I want to say more but I just don't feel like I have ample words to describe it. I laughed, I cried, I fell in love with this story and these characters. Maame Blue is definitely an author I am going to be keeping an eye on in the future!

Content warning - Generational trauma, Migrant journey, Childhood trauma, Racism, Discrimination.

An internationally award-winning writer makes a triumphant American debut with this emotionally powerful story. It follows a woman's journey to uncover a pivotal family secret from a childhood she cannot remember.

On the cusp of thirty, Ghanaian Londoner Whitney Appiah, a gifted massage therapist, can sense and heal her clients' trauma but is unaware of her own hidden suffering from a tragic youth.

A dangerous encounter with her boyfriend triggers fragmented memories, leading Whitney to uncover the buried truths of her early years in Kumasi, Ghana.

This multigenerational story, narrated by Whitney, her aunts Gloria and Aretha, and their house help Maame Serwaa, spans three decades and reads like a journal. It takes us back to mid-90s Ghana and contemporary London, highlighting the struggles of being Black British and the impact of generational trauma.

The book is reminiscing, emotional, and mysterious, depicting Whitney's journey to finally acknowledge and heal from her trauma, with memories of Kumasi revealing the hidden truths.

This is a multigenerational story and it feels like reading a journal. Narrated from the perspectives of Whitney, Gloria and Aretha. It takes back to Ghana in mid 90s and London. For immigrants, life has not been easy, author has shared the struggle of being a black british and how generational trauma affects an individual. The book is reminiscing, emotional and mysterious. The main character finally decides to acknowledge the trauma and heal. The memories of Kumasi unveils the truth.

Thanks to the Publisher

Maame Blue's "The Rest of You" follows Whitney Appiah, a Ghanaian Londoner nearing thirty. Whitney's journey starts after a dangerous encounter with her boyfriend triggers forgotten memories from her childhood in Kumasi, Ghana, during the 1990s.

The novel masterfully blends themes of generational healing, Black British identity, and the complexities of womanhood. Spanning three decades, the story is told through multiple viewpoints—Whitney, her sisters Gloria and Aretha, and their house help, Maame Serwaa. Through these perspectives, Blue expertly explores generational trauma and the immigrant experience, especially elaborating on the Black body and womanhood.

A standout theme is how trauma manifests in the body. Whitney's ability as a masseuse to sense clients' trauma underscores how our bodies carry untold stories. The author portrays the immigrant experience and family secrets, showing how confronting the past can lead to healing.

The ending of "The Rest of You" didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It confirmed suspicions I had long held, but I was left wanting more—more details, deeper exploration of motivations. It felt somewhat unresolved, leaving key aspects hanging in the air. While some readers might find this ambiguity powerful and intense, for me, it detracted from the overall satisfaction of the conclusion.

Despite its flaws, I found "The Rest of You" to be a compelling read with thought-provoking themes that really struck a chord with me. It's the kind of book that stays with you, despite its imperfections, and I think it deserves a reflective 3.5-star rating, which I'm rounding up to 4 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this book's digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This is a dual time line across both Ghana and London, with 2 generations and their lives and stories.
The London timeline is set in the present day and follows Whitney as she turns 30 years old and is still trying to find her place in the world. She moved to London as a toddler and doesn't know much different.
The Ghana timeline follows Gloria, her sisters and baby Whitney and the trials they go through as a family looking after their orphaned niece, Whitney.
I really enjoyed this story, I liked the dual timeline and enjoyed the story. I thought the ending was a bit abrupt and some of the lose ends are left to the reader to work out, but overall I would recommend. It was well written and the characters were interesting and all had different personalities.

This story takes place over two different time periods, the mid 1990s and present day. It is told from the perspective of three women from the same family and follows the fallout of a very traumatic event and how they deal with this in their different ways, how they hurt themselves and each other unintentionally by trying to protect, avenge or just have access to the true facts of what took place. You see how this event impacts on the lives of these three women and ultimately their relationships with each other and also the relationships/friendships they have with other people.

I felt like Whitney was scrambling to make some sense of her life without having all the information. How do you deal with trauma when you don't fully remember and understand the event but it has still had a massive impact on your life. It's asks questions about whether or not you can fully know and understand yourself without important connection, knowledge and understanding of your past and your culture.

I really loved this book, the characters were all such different personalities who although perhaps misguided in how they handled certain things (and isn't that just being human?) it was their love for each other that influenced their actions.

For me this is a story about women and their shared trauma, how they relate to each other because of the trauma inflicted upon them by bad men. Special mention also for Whitney's friends Chantelle and Jak.

A wonderful, loving and heart wrenching book.