Maame by Jessica George

Maame or Maddie as she is known to her friends is a loyal, dependable, hard-working yet somewhat naïve young woman. She lives with and cares for her Parkinson’s suffering father in London until her mother returns from Ghana giving Maddie the green light to move out and begin experiencing the world she has only up until now been observing in glances.

Although excited to be among people her own age, chatting at bars, grabbing a bite, and even dating, Maddie is quite inexperienced, and shy. To prepare for experiences she often calls on google to answer questions one might usually ask a friend which adds a tremendous amount of humor to the book. One cannot help but enjoy Maddie’s curiosity and be surprised by the wide variety of responses in google to questions like: Is a first date at his house normal? Or should you knock on the door of a new flat mate? Not only are the google searches fun, but her internal monologue throughout the novel is also hilarious and witty.

While this fun sort of coming-of-age theme is central to the plot also too is the strained relationship with her mother who calls Maddie, Maame. This name that means woman, encompasses and represents the tremendous responsibility Maame’s mother places on Maddie as caretaker of the ailing father while Maame’s mother is off in Ghana. This is a big obligation for someone so young and I must admit there were times I too felt angry with Maame’s mother. The author, Jessica George, does a beautiful job exploring the dynamics of this most complicated relationship and explaining some of the cultural expectations of the women of Ghana even while in London.

Maame is refreshingly real, hilarious, and uplifting. I thoroughly enjoyed this book (my February BOTM selection)and look forward to more from Jessica George.  

I am an affiliate of BookShop.org and Book of the Month and use affiliate links to this site on my blog. If you click on any of these links and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.