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Coconut
- A Black Girl Fostered by a White Family in the 1960s and Her Search for Belonging and Identity
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
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Coconut
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Summary
Narrated by Adjoa Andoh and featured on the Graham Norton Book Club
"Why am I not White like everybody else?"
Nan came and sat on the edge of my bed. "What do you mean?" A tender finger brushed against my cheek.
"Well, everyone in this house is white. Why am I Black?"
A generation of Nigerian children were born in Britain in the '50s and '60s, privately fostered by white families, then taken to Nigeria by their parents.
Coconut is the story of one of those children.
1963, North London. Nan fosters one-year-old Florence Olajide and calls her "Ann". Florence adores her foster mother more than anything but Nan, and the children around her, all have white skin, and she can’t help but feel different. Then, four years later, after a weekend visit to her birth parents, Florence never returns to Nan. Two months after, sandwiched between her mother and father plus her three siblings, six-year-old Florence steps off a ship in Lagos to the fierce heat of the African sun.
Swapping the lovely, comfortable bed in her room at Nan’s for a mat on the floor of the living room in her new home, Florence finds herself struggling to adjust. She wants to embrace her cultural heritage but doesn’t speak Yoruba and knows nothing of the customs. Clashes with her grandmother, Mama, the matriarch of the family, result in frequent beatings. Torn between her early childhood experiences and the expectations of her African culture, she begins to question who she is. Nigerian, British, both?
Florence’s story is a tale of loss and loneliness, surviving poverty, maltreatment, and fighting to get an education. Most of all, it’s a moving, uplifting, and inspiring account of one woman’s self-determination to discover who she is and find her way to a place she can call home. Perfect for fans of Lemn Sissay’s My Name Is Why and Tara Westover’s Educated.
Critic reviews
"Extraordinarily moving...a stunning read, beautifully written with searing honesty and humor about the complexities of race and identity, about culture and belonging, about the discernible quest for self-discovery. This is a testimony of faith, resilience, and determination, a wonderful achievement." (Abi Daré, international best-selling author of The Girl with the Louding Voice)
"A piece of poetic resilience, Coconut is an integral intervention in our understanding of race, identity and belonging. (David Lammy, politician)
"I found myself completely immersed from the start! Florence writes with honesty, beauty and courage…delving deeply into some of the most important issues of our times." (Christy Lefteri, international best-selling author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo)
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What listeners say about Coconut
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-10-23
Excellent read!
I loved this book. Excellent memoir
Fumi beautifully explained her life story. Inspirational read especially about overcoming racism
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jackie
- 16-12-22
Special in so many ways...
....Florence is another person who reveals that special something inside a soul that brings together the combination of positive and negative magnetic fields in their lives as they create the brightest of stars...and hope for the survival of the best of humankind....a wonderfull lady and life!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- KateC
- 18-12-21
An absolutely amazing book!
I loved every minute of this book, the reader bought feeling and character to the book that was so much more than I could have created had I read the book. I heartily recommend it, it is interesting, it is entertaining, it is thought provoking. just listen, you will understand!!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Janet
- 11-02-22
Heart felt
Loved it, memories came flooding back. This book gave me something to think about.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- brownskin
- 07-09-21
perseverance
OMG! what an interesting book that reminds me a little about my culture. Also learnt alot about the Nigerian culture. I can relate to some of your experiences living and working in the UK.
Many thanks for sharing your BITTER SWEET story. (:
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Chiamaka Ehiem
- 20-10-21
Coconut Review
Coconut is a memoir on family upbringing, individual identity, family values and a bit of child abuse (to be honest the way Funmi's grandma treated her was already bordering on child abuse)
Coconut is a recount of Funmi's experiences from childhood into adulthood and how she grew into herself, speaking up for herself and making it all in a country where although she is a citizen still profiled her based on the color of her skin.
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