THE PLOT: ‘Manny and the Baby’ by Varaidzo is a literary novel about two Black sisters in London’s jazz age. 1936, Manny is determined to make her mark on the London literary scene and her younger sister Rita ‘The Baby’ dreams of being a dancer. In Soho’s underground clubs they meet Ezekiel Brown, a trumpeter, who fuels their ambitions. 2012, Itai’s father has just died and he finds a recording of Rita’s life story on some tapes. Determined to find Rita, Itai becomes tangled up with Josh, a young athlete training for the next Olympics. As both timelines intersect, this novel explores what it means to be Black and British.

SUMMARY: I was so scared I wouldn’t enjoy this book. I got an advanced copy and went to the launch, and I always feel nervous when I stan a book before I’ve actually read it. But, reader, I loved it. This novel is extremely hard to summarise and I worry some people will be put off by the confusing blurb. Let’s be honest, finding tapes or letters from the past is a well-worn trope so it can be difficult to execute. However, I beg people to give this book a go. The plot feels cohesive, despite the disjointed summary, and though I guessed how it all came together, I relished watching the pieces fall into place. You know it’s a good book when you underline sentences and the line-writing had me searching for a pencil. Therefore, it’s a solid four stars and I’d read this author’s next novel.

GOOD BITS:  I was very impressed with the quality of the writing in this novel, and how it was matched by a strong plot structure. Often literary novels meander too much for my taste, but the short chapters and architecture of “the tapes” at regular intervals sustained my interest. I loved how the author manages to convey a distinct voice for each character and I was impressed how even the recorded tapes from “older” Rita had a different energy and language to the scenes from her point of view in the past. Additionally, I was so happy that Cain wasn’t just a stereotype and was moved by the tenderness between him and Josh.

NOT SO GOOD BITS: I found myself skimming some paragraphs when Rita and Itai were ruminating on their situations. Whenever this happened, I forced myself to go back, but this is a sign that the pacing wasn’t 100% there on a scene level. I also found Rita’s decision r.e. Bully a bit too removed from the character we’d initially been presented with. It was there slightly in the relationship with her grandmother, but I wish there had been more subtle hints to that side of her personality. Itai’s actions and character arc also felt artificially drawn out to fit with the rhythm of the tapes.

OVERALL: I’d recommend this book to fans of ‘Black Cake’ by Charmaine Wilkerson, ‘NW’ by Zadie Smith, ‘Shrines of Gaiety’ by Kate Atkinson, and ‘The Love Songs of Ricki Wilde’ by Tia Williams. If you enjoy dual-timeline, character-driven novels, then this is a book for you.

Thank you to Scribe for a #gifted advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. ‘Manny and the Baby’ was released on 11^th April 2024 and is available to buy on my bookshop.org page.