Rootless

Appiah debuts with an expansive and rich saga of a British Ghanaian woman balancing familial expectations with her own desires. In 2016 London, Sam Mensah is frantically searching for Efe Owusu-Mensah, his disappeared wife. With a parallel narrative, Appiah unspools Efe’s story, beginning 19 years earlier when her parents sent her and her younger sister, Serwaa, from Accra, Ghana, to live with their aunt in London to finish secondary school. Culture shock overwhelms Efe, but Serwaa easily assimilates. Soon, though, Efe finds her footing with some help from her popular cousin, who introduces her to Sam. After pursuing a degree in economics, Efe fails out of college, much to her parents’ chagrin. Depressed and isolated, she eventually decides to study art history before marrying Sam and reluctantly starting a family. Postpartum depression follows the birth of their daughter, but with time and therapy Efe’s spirits improve. Still, she feels drawn to Ghana, where it turns out she’s traveled to without telling Sam. Though the narrative runs a little longer than necessary, Appiah is adept at showing the ways Efe copes with the pain of abandonment and depression. This cosmopolitan work will speak to readers. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency. (Mar.)

Correction: An earlier version of this review incorrectly stated the Efe character had an older sister, and that she moved to London to finish primary school.