Coconut by Florence Olajide (Audio Book)

 

Coconut (Audio Book) by Florence Olajide.

Narrated by Adjoa Andoh.

Released 13th July 2021 by Thread Books.

From the cover:

A generation of Nigerian children were born in Britain in the '50s and '60s, privately fostered by white families, then taken to Nigeria by their parents. Coconut is the story of one of those children.

1963, North London. Nan fosters one-year-old Florence Olajide and calls her "Ann". Florence adores her foster mother more than anything but Nan, and the children around her, all have white skin, and she can’t help but feel different. Then, four years later, after a weekend visit to her birth parents, Florence never returns to Nan. Two months after, sandwiched between her mother and father plus her three siblings, six-year-old Florence steps off a ship in Lagos to the fierce heat of the African sun.

Swapping the lovely, comfortable bed in her room at Nan’s for a mat on the floor of the living room in her new home, Florence finds herself struggling to adjust. She wants to embrace her cultural heritage but doesn’t speak Yoruba and knows nothing of the customs. Clashes with her grandmother, Mama, the matriarch of the family, result in frequent beatings. Torn between her early childhood experiences and the expectations of her African culture, she begins to question who she is. Nigerian, British, both?

Florence’s story is a tale of loss and loneliness, surviving poverty, maltreatment, and fighting to get an education. Most of all, it’s a moving, uplifting, and inspiring account of one woman’s self-determination to discover who she is and find her way to a place she can call home. Perfect for fans of Lemn Sissay’s My Name Is Why and Tara Westover’s Educated.

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Coconut is a story that begins in 1960s London. Like many people of colour from far flung places in the Commonwealth, Florence's parents leave their home in Nigeria to study and find work in London, and their children are born here as a result. Also in common with many of their compatriots, their need for childcare is fulfilled by privately fostering out their child to a white family, with occasional visits home to the cramped living conditions of their parents.

Despite the birth of younger siblings who remain with their parents, Florence continues in the care of her foster family for four years and comes to love them dearly, especially her kindly foster mother 'Nan' who calls Florence 'Ann' - a name she only learns later is not her real one. Surrounded by white faces, Florence gradually comes to understand that there is something different about her and often wonders why there are so few black faces around her.

After one weekend visit home to her parents and younger siblings, Florence is upset to learn that she will not be returning to stay with her lovely 'Nan'. Instead, frustrated at being unable to find jobs that recognise their skills and educational achievements, Florence's parents decide to return to live in Nigeria - a country she and her brothers and sisters have never visited.

At the age of six, Florence steps off a boat into the heat and chaos of Lagos - her new home. She struggles to understand almost every aspect of her new life, and although desperate to learn about her cultural heritage and amazed to behold the sea of black faces that live here, she does not even speak Yoruba and her British ways get her into endless trouble. The family matriarch Mama, her father's mother, holds sway in this tiny cramped apartment, and she is a great believer in the 'spare the rod, spoil the child' method of childrearing, subjecting Florence to regular beatings in her determination to imbue the Yoruba ways into her granddaughter - a traumatic pattern of behaviour that continues in the years to come.

As Florence grows, falls in love, marries and has children of her own, we are at her side as she fights to get an education and earn the freedom to aspire to something more that the expectation that she will become an obedient and tractable young woman formed for marriage and childbearing. Where do her roots lie and how much of her is British and how much Nigerian?

It's only when she and her husband make the hard decision to uproot their family and make a life in Britain, fighting to carve out a place for themselves in a country that is not always accepting of those who are different, that Florence comes to understand how she can combine elements of both her cultural identities and make peace with who she really is.

Coconut is an incredible memoir of a black woman struggling to find out where she belongs, and how the myriad jigsaw pieces of her cultural identity come together to form a coherent picture. What makes this so unusual is that Florence happily grew up thinking of herself as completely British until having to adjust the huge culture shock of being uprooted at the age of six to live in Nigeria, and being required to negotiate completely different societal norms and family customs, without the least idea of how to go about doing so, especially since she did not even have the benefit of speaking the same language. 

There was so much I did not know about the Yoruba way, from family relationships, the education system, and the wider culture, and Florence vividly describes them in all an engaging and informative way, sprinkling her narrative with anecdotes about many facets of her life in Nigeria, including some pivotal moments in the country's history. I found it all fascinating and deeply touching, despite the many examples of injustice, sexual discrimination and violence that recur, because amidst the tough moments Florence also conveys so much humour, and genuine affection for family, friends and many aspects of her new found life at the same time - even down to the simplest of pleasures.

When Florence's story moves on to the time she returns to settle in Britain with her family, we are on more familiar territory in terms of the struggles facing a black family fighting for the same opportunities offered freely to their white neighbours. Here Florence describes instances of being forced to live to sinkhole estates where crime is rife, and having to settle for low paid domestic work because education and skills count for less if your face does not fit. But our Florence is nothing if not determined, as we are well aware - I celebrated every triumph at her side as she overcame many obstacles and settled into life as a valued teacher in an inner city school, learned to adjust to life as a British mother, and then reaped the rewards of her labours to achieve her dreams, and help her own children become happy and well-adjusted.

The most heart-warming and uplifting thing about this memoir for me is the way Florence has become more comfortable with expressing the parts of herself that stem from both her British and Nigerian sides, learning that she does not have to diminish her Yoruba heritage to live and thrive in Britain. I love that she has been able to use her experience of living in both countries to help so many young people and their parents to fulfil their potential and live happy and full lives too.

Coconut is one of the most rewarding memoirs I have read, and listening to the audio book version, narrated splendidly by Adjoa Andom, has been a wonderful experience. Tracing Florence's highs and lows, her loves and losses, and the lessons she has learned as she has matured, has really allowed me to have an incredible insight into her life - and it has an inspiring message for anyone struggling with a sense of belonging, or wondering how to rationalise different sides of their own cultural identity.

Coconut is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats now from your favourite book retailer.

Thank you to Myrto Kalavrezou at Thread Books for inviting me to listen to this audio book, via Netgalley, in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of the readalong for this wonderful memoir

About the author:

Born in London, Florence spent her early childhood in a white foster family. At the age of six, she moved with her birth family to Lagos, Nigeria where she grew up. Florence holds a BA (Hons) and MA degree in Education. She returned to the UK where she worked as a teacher, headteacher and later as one of Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools in England.

Florence now runs her own consultancy providing school improvement guidance and support to a range of educational establishments. When she isn’t working, she enjoys writing songs, reading romance novels and sewing.

She lives in Kent and is married with three adult children and two grandchildren.