In this debut story collection, British-Nigerian arts and culture writer Funmi Fetto reveals the complexities of African diasporic womanhood, building worlds in which African women write and rewrite the narratives that shape their existence.
From a Nigerian migrant worker conned out of her earnings in London to a recently widowed housewife rediscovering her suppressed African heritage, a long-suffering wife who poisons her husband to a woman whose family secrets endanger her upcoming marriage, Hail Mary illuminates the private lives of Nigerian women in ten searing stories of longing and belonging, survival and triumph, death and rebirth each featuring a very different Nigerian woman at a crossroads.
Nigerian author Funmi Fetto's narration anchors this wide-ranging collection of short stories with a steady, immersive presence. She modulates her voice to reflect the unique emotional terrain of each character. Fetto makes it easy to distinguish between Ifeoma's escalating tension as she tries to leave her abusive husband, Nkechi's cautious resilience, and Riliwa's evolving sense of displacement.
