★ 08/10/2020
Jamaican writer McKenzie’s thoroughly satisfying novel (after Sweetheart ) explores a Jamaican American artist’s grief after losing his wife in a New York City terrorist attack. Chris, 44, leaves N.Y.C. for Port Segovia, Jamaica, after his wife, Lidia, is killed in a bombing of a public park. Chris’s friend and agent, Stephen, arranges for him to live with Miss Della Robinson, whom Stephen calls his “auntie,” though they aren’t related. In the company of Miss Della and her guests, who are drawn to the house by his paintings, he learns to laugh again. Chris’s trip is cut short, however, when Stephen calls to tell Chris his father is in the hospital for surgery, and Chris flies back to New York, where he faces the rift that widened between him and his father after his mother’s death from cancer six years earlier. Many characters and plot threads overlap, and McKenzie juggles them with aplomb, making Stephen the connector as aspects of Chris’s artist life, Jamaican heritage, and relationship with his in-laws increasingly run together. McKenzie’s prose enlivens the Jamaican scenery, describing hills that “rippled in shades of emerald” and “wind making the trees bend left and right like a spite,” and she seamlessly blends the Jamaican characters’ patois in first-person chapters alternating with Chris’s narrative. This bighearted narrative of love, loss, and family is handled with grace and beauty. (Nov.)
"A Million Aunties is a beautiful story of recovering from loss and coming to terms with your past."
"Racial identity, nonfamilial relationships, and the restorative nature of art are all explored as McKenzie considers the possibility of regeneration of the human spirit even as we grapple with the tragedies of lost loves and changing worlds. McKenzie successfully integrates various speech patterns in Caribbean patois and a mixture of English and French as she takes readers on a hopeful journey across continents."
Starred Review; one of the Best New Books of the W Booklist
"Emotional, enthralling and heartfelt . . . A story of loss and the infinite types of love."
"Have you ever not wanted a book to end? Were disappointed that the characters are gone from your life? A Million Aunties by Alecia McKenzie is one such novel that makes you yearn for more."
New York Journal of Books
"Delightfully original, this novel centers Chris, an American who travels to his mother’s homeland of Jamaica to reflect and heal after tragedy strikes. What he encounters is unexpected, complicated and, perhaps, just what he needs."
"Alecia McKenzie’s tender new novel [is] an emotionally resonant ode to adopted families and community resilience."
Editors' Choice New York Times Book Review
"Racial identity, nonfamilial relationships, and the restorative nature of art are all explored as McKenzie considers the possibility of regeneration of the human spirit even as we grapple with the tragedies of lost loves and changing worlds. McKenzie successfully integrates various speech patterns in Caribbean patois and a mixture of English and French as she takes readers on a hopeful journey across continents."
Booklist, STARRED review - a Best New Book of the Week
"McKenzie has infused this lovely novel with such life and such passion . . . [Sweetheart is] a dazzling celebration of human connection."
on Sweetheart Maple Tree Literary Supplement
"The beauty and brilliance of Blackness in the diaspora take centerstage in Alecia McKenzie’s A Million Aunties, showcasing the intricate textures of identity, place, and connection to survive loss."
"A Million Aunties gives us the stories of an unlikely cross-world community brought together by anguish, loss, difference, the healing gifts of art, and above all, the loves of women. Under her deceptively revealing title, Alecia McKenzie recreates Jamaica's enduring traditions in fresh and illuminating ways that make this one of the most avant-garde fictions I have read in a long time."
"A wide-ranging novel told in several voices that moves between New York, rural Jamaica, and Paris. Painting is at the heart of the book but so is family, love, heartbreak, and loss. The story pulls you in and holds you right till the end. It’s strongly written with a delicate touch."
"A beautiful book for anyone who knows there is more to family than blood relations. After losing his wife, NYC artist Chris travels to his mother's hometown in Jamaica and contemplates his place in the world."
"A Million Aunties is an exquisite novel about beauty and pain, and what binds us together. Through captivating character studies, quiet lovely writing and deceptively simple storytelling, McKenzie illuminates basic commonalities and rethinks what family and home mean."
"Full of wondrous tales of how simple acts of kindness can bring us all together, A Million Aunties is a compelling book about unlikely love, friendship, and community, sprinkled with delightful surprises along the way."
"A Million Aunties is an elegantly written and emotionally engrossing work of fiction."
2020-08-19
As a New York City–based artist, Chris can’t shake the burden of his father’s expectations. Their relationship becomes increasingly strained after the death of Chris’ wife, Lidia. Looking for a fresh start, Chris travels to Jamaica, his mother’s homeland. Chris’ agent, Stephen, who also has roots in that country, has set him up at his Auntie Della’s home. For a few days, Chris is at peace, learning to draw flowers, creating art, tucking into Auntie Della’s delicious meals, and being fawned over by the locals. But upon learning that his father is severely ill, Chris has to rush back to the U.S. Separate threads detail Stephen’s own visit to Jamaica when Miss Pretty, another “auntie,” who has had a difficult life, begins to view Stephen as her own son. In yet another plotline, Chris’ father, who grew up in the South, narrates the story of his marriage to Eileen, who's Jamaican. Miss Vera, another auntie, talks about her daily life in Jamaica, reminiscing about her daughter who immigrated to Miami. These various characters drop in and out of the narrative, their reasons for doing so barely apparent. McKenzie tries to create a vibrant community of people who are tied together by love for their motherland, but the characters are so paper-thin, their motivations so cloudy, that the entire story begins to turn to mush. At first blush it appears that the mystery behind Lidia’s sudden death might serve to anchor the novel, but that arc too eventually disappears into thin air.
A drive-by snapshot of characters’ lives.
"Have you ever not wanted a book to end? Were disappointed that the characters are gone from your life? A Million Aunties by Alecia McKenzie is one such novel that makes you yearn for more."New York Journal of Books
"A wide-ranging novel told in several voices that moves between New York, rural Jamaica, and Paris. Painting is at the heart of the book but so is family, love, heartbreak, and loss. The story pulls you in and holds you right till the end. It’s strongly written with a delicate touch."New West Indian Guide
"Racial identity, nonfamilial relationships, and the restorative nature of art are all explored as McKenzie considers the possibility of regeneration of the human spirit even as we grapple with the tragedies of lost loves and changing worlds. McKenzie successfully integrates various speech patterns in Caribbean patois and a mixture of English and French as she takes readers on a hopeful journey across continents."Booklist
"Thoroughly satisfying...This bighearted narrative of love, loss, and family is handled with grace and beauty."Publishers Weekly
"A Million Aunties is an exquisite novel about beauty and pain, and what binds us together. Through captivating character studies, quiet lovely writing and deceptively simple storytelling, McKenzie illuminates basic commonalities and rethinks what family and home mean."Shelf Awareness
"The beauty and brilliance of Blackness in the diaspora take centerstage in Alecia McKenzie’s A Million Aunties, showcasing the intricate textures of identity, place, and connection to survive loss."Colors of Influence
"Full of wondrous tales of how simple acts of kindness can bring us all together, A Million Aunties is a compelling book about unlikely love, friendship, and community, sprinkled with delightful surprises along the way."Exclusive Magazine
"A beautiful book for anyone who knows there is more to family than blood relations. After losing his wife, NYC artist Chris travels to his mother's hometown in Jamaica and contemplates his place in the world."Book Culture
"A Million Aunties is an elegantly written and emotionally engrossing work of fiction."Bernardine Evaristo , Booker Prize–winning author of Girl, Woman, Other
"A Million Aunties gives us the stories of an unlikely cross-world community brought together by anguish, loss, difference, the healing gifts of art, and above all, the loves of women. Under her deceptively revealing title, Alecia McKenzie recreates Jamaica's enduring traditions in fresh and illuminating ways that make this one of the most avant-garde fictions I have read in a long time."Curdella Forbes , author of A Tall History of Sugar
“McKenzie has infused this lovely novel with such life and such passion . . . [Sweetheart is] a dazzling celebration of human connection.”Maple Tree Literary Supplement, on Sweetheart
Narrators Robin Miles and Karl O'Brian Williams alternate the chapters of McKenzie's novel. A New York-based artist named Chris travels to his mother's Jamaican hometown after a personal tragedy and gets to know the people there. Miles affects a light Caribbean accent for the narrative and employs a heavier one for the Jamaican characters’ dialogue. She convincingly conveys the Caribbean patois to create vivid depictions. Jamaican-born Karl O'Brian Williams, for his part, adds dimensionality to the voices of the community where Chris finds himself. S.E.G. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
