Win copies of the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction shortlisted, How To Say Babylon
Fourth Estate have 10 read and review copies of How To Say Babylon: A Jamaican Memoir by Safiya Sinclair which is shortlisted for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction.
An extraordinary and inspiring memoir of family, education and resilience, from award-winning poet Safiya Sinclair.
There was more than one way to be lost, more than one way to be saved.
Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where luxury hotels line pristine white sand beaches, Safiya Sinclair grew up guarding herself against an ever-present threat. Her father, a volatile reggae musician and strict believer in a militant sect of Rastafari, railed against Babylon, the corrupting influence of the immoral Western world just beyond their gate. To protect the purity of the women in their family he forbade almost everything: nowhere but home and school, no friends but this family and no future but this path.
Her mother did what she could to bring joy to her children with books and poetry. But as Safiya’s imagination reached beyond its restrictive borders, her burgeoning independence brought with it ever greater clashes with her father. Soon she realised that if she was to live at all, she had to find some way to leave home. But how?
In seeking to understand the past of her family, Safiya Sinclair takes readers inside a world that is little understood by those outside it and offers an astonishing personal reckoning. How to Say Babylon is an unforgettable story of a young woman’s determination to live life on her own terms.
‘Lushly written and heart-stoppingly gripping’ BERNARDINE EVARISTO
‘Dazzling. Potent. Vital’ TARA WESTOVER
‘A story about hope, imagination and resilience’ GUARDIAN
‘I adored this book … Unforgettable’ ELIF SHAFAK
‘This wonderfully vivid and empowering memoir tells the story of Safiya’s childhood in Jamaica and her struggle to free herself from the chains of her father’s rigid Rastafarian faith. It will make you cry with rage and then joy as Safiya finds her voice and an escape through creativity. It’s a tribute to mothers, a lesson for fathers and a testament to the unique power of books to show us new worlds’
GILLIAN ANDERSON
How to apply
Fill in this short survey by 23 May to be in with the chance of getting 10 copies to review.
Find out more about the Women’s Prize for Non-fiction
Check out the full Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction shortlist. You can also order a digital pack for your orgnisation or book club in our shop.
Downloads and links
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