So Distant From My Life

Shortlisted, 2023 ALTA National Translation AwardOne of the Observer’s fiction picks for 2022Winner, PEN Heim award'To deter me, my uncle spoke to me about roots. A line of argument that I found absurd. Even plants are intelligent enough to grow around stones, seeking the best soil for their roots underground.' Jeanphi, a young man from the fictional West African city Ouabany, has one obsession that will determine the fate of his life – migration. He scrapes together money to take the illegal ro