Nothing more fascinating than having a profound connection to a book that mirrors your own experiences. “Hope and Glory” by Jendella Benson did that for me. From the start of the story, I felt the familiarity of the Nigerian British immigrant experience wrapped around me like a familiar cloak. It illuminates the lives of second-generation Nigerian immigrants in the UK through the perspective of their British-born children.
Jendella captures the discomfort of being caught between two distinct cultures and the weight of expectations that comes with that. It encapsulates, the challenges of living in the UK, and the harsh reality faced by the those in the community. Nigerian culture is renowned worldwide for its strength and various other aspects, and Nigerians have made a significant impact on the global stage.
Introduction
We’re first introduced to Glory arriving from her 2-year stint in LA for her father’s funeral and being picked up at the airport by her sister, Faith.
I love the fact that Jendella centered the characters and their experiences and slowly pulls us into Glory’s family experience. There was great intimacy in this style.
The British Nigerian experience
Jendella narrowed her story to the life of her characters through activities in the community – the church, the food, and the struggles of the of the third generation British Nigerians who are now the Millennials and Gen Zs. With some like Faith, successfully navigating their way through this. And others like Glory’s brother doing time in jail.
I believe we don’t yet have enough literature in the UK that chronicles the lives of first, second, and third-generation African immigrants. I am attempting to curate some of those stories.
What is Hope and Glory about
So here is the story; I will not give away anything because there are some nice twists. Glory is a 20-something starting out on her life’s journey. Jendella immerses us into her family issues, a recently deceased father, her mother Celeste in the middle of a breakdown and obsessed with spiritual prophets, fake or real in Nigeria, Faith, her sister and her upwardly mobile husband intent on supporting their broken family, a brother sentenced to jail on the strength of a law known as joint enterprise and the discovery of a family secret.
Glory is a great character, full of anxiety yet solid and forthright. I love how Jendella weaves a mystery into her plot, and how her writing flows. Once I picked the book up, I wanted to finish it. She captures Peckham in South East London so well that I almost felt she overdid those descriptions. Hope and Glory is important in the African British immigrant experience canon.
Jendella demonstrates that literature can be simple and straightforward in getting our message across. Her second book, All that We’ve Got, comes out in July and I look forward to reading that.
