The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts

Palmer weaves folktales and magical realism in her moving debut, about a splintered Brooklyn family. Beatrice, a proud but troubled mother originally from Trinidad, raises daughters Sasha and Zora with her Jamaican husband, Nigel, in the late 1990s. West African fables play an important role in shaping the family’s relationships and understanding of their culture. Beatrice gives Zora a book called The Anansi Stories for a school writing project, and teenaged Sasha helps Zora understand the tales and myths. As Nigel and Beatrice’s relationship falls apart, a pregnant Beatrice develops debilitating headaches, Nigel falls in love with a German woman, and Sasha discovers she’s not interested in boys and might prefer to appear masculine. Zora, meanwhile, dreams of becoming a writer. The more the two sisters explore their identities, the more they grow apart, and after Beatrice dies from cancer, they’re haunted by her ghost. Palmer brings whimsy to her portrayal of the family even in painful moments—such as when Beatrice tells the girls fables to cheer them up—and nuance to the evolving attitudes of the Black American and Caribbean people in Sasha’s orbit toward her exploration of sexuality and gender identity. This will stick with readers. Agent: Laura Usselman, Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency. (Mar.)