I was a woman, and therefore inferior… But America, I had found, was just as brutal, albeit better at masking the signs of patriarchy.” Forna struggled with her identity as an immigrant woman living in America: “In Sierra Leone, it was clear cut. Forna started writing The Gilded Ones in her second year at the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 2012, but at the time her work was met with questions such as if it was necessary for her main character to be a person of colour. This might make it sound like getting her story from manuscript to bestseller has been a straightforward process, but there is more to it. Plus, it was revealed soon after that the book also received a film deal, with Forna set to write the script herself. The Gilded Ones, the first book in the Deathless trilogy, received an impressive six-figure publication deal mere days after Forna submitted her final draft. It is unsurprising, however, that the online marketing was going well. In other words, this book needed to perform well online, which is where I encountered and bought it. With my thesis handed in and birthday around the corner, it seemed like perfect timing - except that my favourite bookstore was closed due to Covid, and also wasn’t receiving recent publications for their click and collect due to Brexit. Namina Forna’s literary debut hit the shelves in February.
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