Wahala

LoveReading Says

“Wahala” means trouble or problem, which is exactly what three mixed-race women find themselves landed with in Wahal May’s breath-taking debut. Wahala is funny, surprising, multi-layered and un-put-down-able — a incisive shard of contemporary fiction that escalates with all the pace and jaw-dropping twists of a top-notch thriller.

Simi and Isobel go back a long way, to their childhoods in Lagos: “It was their colour that had thrown Simi and Isobel together. Mixed-race kids were unusual in 1980s Lagos. It wasn’t that different in 1990s Bristol – that’s how she met Boo and Ronke too.” Simi now lives in London, still close to Boo and Ronke, but the three women aren’t entirely happy with their lives.

While Simi is battling racism in her fashion career, and has a husband who’s more “obsessed with making her pregnant” than her professional break-throughs, Ronke is desperate to settle down and marry a Nigerian (shame her boyfriend is so flaky). Meanwhile, Boo is a frustrated stay-at-home-mum to a demanding five-year-old, longing to get back to her career in bioinformatics, and yearning for more passion in her life.

Into this sweeps Isobel — super wealthy, super sexy and super confident. Simi hasn’t seen her childhood friend for years. After Simi’s family lost their wealth, she and Isobel lost contact until an out-of-the-blue phone call sees them reunite in London. Newly freed from a toxic marriage, Isobel is a blast of change, but it’s not long before her advice sows seeds of friction between the three friends, disrupting their lives in unimaginable ways.

The unravelling is brilliantly plotted, and it’s funny too, while also exploring loss, love, race, motherhood, sisterhood and identity. Oh, and given that reading about Ronke’s delicious dishes is sure to make your mouth water, rejoice at the fact that some of her recipes are shared at the back of the book.

Joanne Owen

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