Butter Honey Pig Bread

By: Francesca Ekwuyasi

Narrated by: Amaka Umeh

2021 Canada Reads Finalist

Long-listed for the 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize

An intergenerational saga about three Nigerian women: a novel about food, family, and forgiveness.

Butter Honey Pig Bread is a story of choices and their consequences, of motherhood, of the malleable line between the spirit and the mind, of finding new homes and mending old ones, of voracious appetites, of queer love, of friendship, faith, and above all, family.

Francesca Ekwuyasi’s debut novel tells the interwoven stories of twin sisters, Kehinde and Taiye, and their mother, Kambirinachi. Kambirinachi feels she was born an Ogbanje, a spirit that plagues families with misfortune by dying in childhood to cause its mother misery. She believes that she has made the unnatural choice of staying alive to love her human family and now lives in fear of the consequences of that decision.

Some of Kambirinachi’s worst fears come true when her daughter, Kehinde, experiences a devasting childhood trauma that causes the family to fracture in seemingly irreversible ways. As soon as she’s of age, Kehinde moves away and cuts contact with her twin sister and mother. Alone in Montreal, she struggles to find ways to heal while building a life of her own. Meanwhile, Taiye, plagued by guilt for what happened to her sister, flees to London and attempts to numb the loss of the relationship with her twin through reckless hedonism.

Now, after more than a decade of living apart, Taiye and Kehinde have returned home to Lagos to visit their mother. It is here that the three women must face each other and address the wounds of the past if they are to reconcile and move forward.

Bespeak Audio Editions brings Canadian voices to the world with audiobook editions of some of the country’s greatest works of literature, performed by Canadian actors.

©2021 Francesca Ekwuyasi (P)2021 Bespeak Audio Editions

Critic reviews

“Spanning decades, this fast-paced debut novel moves from Lagos to Montreal, Halifax, and London as it traces the sorrows and triumphs of a pair of estranged twin sisters and their troubled mother.... The novel abounds with sex, death, and food - whose preparation offers these characters catharsis, knowledge, and sometimes simply pleasure.” (The New Yorker)

“The descriptions throughout the novel, from Taiye’s cooking to the feel of Lagos to the urgency of new love, invite readers to fully savor Ekwuyasi’s language. Mixing emotional depth with supernatural elements, this is a masterful debut.” (Booklist, starred review)

“Ekwuyasi’s magical debut delves into the reverberating effects of a Nigerian mother’s choices on her twin daughters’ lives. The stories of Kambirinachi and her daughters, Taiye and Kehinde, unfold in lyrical, emotionally affecting parallel narratives.... Written in sizzling prose, Ekwuyasi’s assured, inspired debut will impress fans of Akwaeke Emezi.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

Stick with this read...

Stick with this read even though it might seem like it's all over the place. You'll see it is well worth it by about the middle of the book. About midway is where things start to come together, and I thoroughly admire authors that weave complicated, disparate characters and magical realism into something that actually makes sense. Clever Francesca!

rich and sumptuous

I loved this book! The writing was decadent, smooth and warm. The relationships were carefully described and each character was well developed. I highly recommend this brilliant debut.

Madness and the Supernatural

A good read, lengthy, but deep. I'm caught between the themes of madness and the supernatural. It's easier to think of the supernatural as vampires, were animals, obeah and voodoo, but this obangje type of supernatural teetered on the insane. I guess it may be both and if so, this gives a whole new perspective on the mind of the 'mad'. The story is also very sad and lonely and makes me think of our differences despite our sameness.

captivating story

I was pulled in and invested in this story. it was absolutely entertaining. I loved the narration too. found it hard to put down

Beautiful story

This book is stunning! It’s a must read! I definitely plan on re-reading it.

fantastic performance, good story

I don't usually read family dramas (or anything that centres food or love), but this came highly recommended for a reason. It's a story that interweaves those three disinterests of mine in a way that is actually compelling. The book was touching and intense and the character's hurts and coping mechanisms became mine. I found the mother figure the most interesting; the obangje (unfortunate effect of listening to an audiobook is I have no idea how to spell the names)... but Taye and Kainde are both such empathetic characters. Worth noting: this narrator is amazing. I really loved her performance. The slight variations in accent and her sense of emotion were perfect.

Delicious!

Loved the experience into a culture and world I would not have ever known.

I am in awe

This book is amazing. The narrator is incredible. This book took me places. A must!

it’s worth it

the first half can get confusing with the switches in narration, but it eventually came together and it was so worth it. the last few chapters, especially, were gratifying and searingly beautiful and i was so glad i stuck it out. recommend to anyone who will appreciate a meaningful story on forgiveness — of both yourself and others.

You will not want the story to end

This story beautifully weaves the lives of three generations of women. Their thoughts, ghosts, loves, aspirations and fears. It takes us all over the world and then brings us back home for healing and reconciliation. The narration by. Amaka Umeh was on point. She did not miss an accent, or a nuanced speech. She made the story come alive.