The Edge of Water by Olufunke Grace Bankole
Winner of the Westport Prize for Literature
Winner of the Ploughshares John C. Zacharis First Book Award
Finalist for New American Voices Award, Pacific Northwest Book Award, and Oregon Book Award
Best Book of the Year at TIME, Apple, Debutiful, Electric Literature, Well-Read Black Girl, Chicago Review of Books, and Goodreads
Afrocritik Notable African Book of 2025
Brittle Paper 100 Notable African Books of 2025
Best Book of the Month at Oprah Daily, Apple Books, Alta Journal, Ms. Magazine, Book Riot, The Roots, Write or Die, and Southern Review of Books
Set between Nigeria and New Orleans, The Edge of Water tells the story of a young woman who dreams of life in America, as the collision of traditional prophecy and individual longing tests the bonds of a family during a devastating storm.
- Sale Date
- ISBN
- 9781963108057
- Page Count
- 272
- Language
- English
- Dimensions
- 5½ x 8½
- Imprint
- Tin House
Meet the Author
Olufunke Grace BankoleWinner of the Ploughshares John C. Zacharis First Book Award
Finalist for New American Voices Award, Pacific Northwest Book Award, and Oregon Book Award
Best Book of the Year at TIME, Apple, Debutiful, Electric Literature, Well-Read Black Girl, Chicago Review of Books, and Goodreads
Afrocritik Notable African Book of 2025
Brittle Paper 100 Notable African Books of 2025
Best Book of the Month at Oprah Daily, Apple Books, Alta Journal, Ms. Magazine, Book Riot, The Roots, Write or Die, and Southern Review of Books
Set between Nigeria and New Orleans, The Edge of Water tells the story of a young woman who dreams of life in America, as the collision of traditional prophecy and individual longing tests the bonds of a family during a devastating storm.
In Ibadan, Nigeria, a mother receives a divination that foretells danger for her daughter in America. In spite of this warning, she allows her to forge her own path, and Amina arrives in New Orleans filled with hope. But just as Amina begins to find her way, a hurricane threatens to destroy the city, upending everything she’d dreamed of and the lives of all she holds dear. Years later, her daughter is left with questions about the mother she barely knew, and the family she has yet to discover in Nigeria.
Exploring the love of a determined mother and dreaming daughter who do not say enough to each other until it is too late, the detangling of Yoruba Christianity, traditional religion, and folklore, and the tellings of three generations of daring women—through times of longing, promise, and romance, as well as heartbreak—Olufunke Grace Bankole’s The Edge of Water is a luminous debut novel about a young woman brave enough to leave all she knows behind, and the way her fate transforms a family destined to stay together.
Praise for The Edge of Water
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“Captivating. . . . lingers on moments of hope and beauty ultimately telling a powerful story of mother-daughter love.”
Oprah Daily, A Best Book of February -
“Olufunke Grace Bankole’s hauntingly gorgeous prose pierces the veil between the material world and the mystic, creating this unforgettable story of motherhood that crosses continents and three generations of women with incredible finesse.”
Chicago Review of Books -
“Beautiful. . . . this is one to savor.”
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
About the Imprint
Where the literary canon of tomorrow is born. Critically acclaimed titles that challenge, illuminate, and linger. Discover award-winning fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from emerging voices you’ll say you found first.
