Losing the Plot

Owusu’s autofictional sophomore novel (after That Reminds Me) stylizes the gaps in his mother’s past instead of filling them, resulting in a refreshing take on coming-of-age narratives. As a young Ghanian woman newly arrived in Britain, she is just “the girl.” In motherhood, which takes up in the majority of the book, she becomes “mum.” Owusu transforms the mystery of his reticent mother into an experimental art form, unpacking her idiosyncrasies and occasionally inserting his notes directly into the main text. Readers don’t learn what her life in Ghana was like, but they do know that she doesn’t enjoy surprise parties, people knocking on their door, funerals, phone calls—interruptions, which by extension could include her current life in relation to her old one. Most importantly, they come to know that the source of her malaise, perhaps the biggest mystery of the book, must be at least as heavy as everything she’s left behind—an entire world.