Unapologetically Black and Bold

Welcome to the Unapologetically Black and Bold reading group! I'm Angel and we’ll be taking in the words of contemporary black authors from all genres of fiction. I think it’s only fitting to start with Candice Carty-Williams, who we had the pleasure of hosting at our bookshop in June. With the release of the second book earlier this year, Queenie has been on my mind. Dionne Brown beautifully portrays Queenie in the Channel 4 series and I can’t wait for us to bring her to life through our discussions.

Perfect for fans of Dolly Alderton, Elizabeth Day, Sally Rooney and Diana Evans, and anyone who loved Fleabag.

Queenie is a twenty-five-year-old Black woman living in south London, straddling Jamaican and British culture whilst slotting neatly into neither. She works at a national newspaper where she's constantly forced to compare herself to her white, middle-class peers, and beg to write about Black Lives Matter. After a messy break up from her long-term white boyfriend, Queenie finds herself seeking comfort in all the wrong places.

As Queenie veers from one regrettable decision to another, she finds herself wondering, What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Who do you want to be? - the questions that every woman today must face in a world that keeps trying to provide the answers for them.

A darkly comic and bitingly subversive take on life, love, race and family, Queenie will have you nodding in recognition, crying in solidarity and rooting for this unforgettable character every step of the way. A disarmingly honest, boldly political and truly inclusive tale that will speak to anyone who has gone looking for love and acceptance and found something very different in its place.