River Mumma

Written by Zalika Reid-Benta

Narrated by Tymika Tafari

Issa Rae’s Insecure with a magical realist spin: an exhilarating exploration of diasporic community and ancestral ties, and an homage to Jamaican storytelling by one of the most invigorating voices in today’s literature.

Alicia has been out of grad school for months. She has no career prospects and lives with her mom, who won’t stop texting her macabre news stories and reminders to pick up items from the grocery store. Then, one evening, the Jamaican water deity River Mumma appears to Alicia, telling her that she has twenty-four hours to scour the city for her missing comb.

Alicia doesn’t understand why River Mumma would choose her. She can’t remember all the legends her relatives told her, unlike her retail coworker Heaven, who can reel off Jamaican folklore by heart. She doesn’t know if her childhood visions have returned, or why she feels a strange connection to her other coworker Mars. But when the trio is chased down by malevolent spirits, they realize their tenuous bonds to each other may be their only lifelines. With the clock ticking, Alicia’s quest through the city broadens into a journey through time—to find herself and what the river carries.

“A love letter to culture, home, and coming of age—and will spark important, relevant book club conversations, too. What a ride! I loved every moment.”—Marissa Stapley, New York Times bestselling author of Lucky

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 20, 2024
• ISBN: 9798892731737

Zalika Reid-Benta

ZALIKA REID-BENTA is a Toronto-based writer whose debut short story collection, Frying Plantain, was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Frying Plantain was also nominated for the Forest of Reading Evergreen Award presented by the Ontario Library Association; appeared on must-read lists from Bustle, Refinery29, and Chatelaine to the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, and more; and was listed as one of Indigo’s Best Books of the Year. Zalika is the winner of the ByBlacks People’s Choice Award for Best Author, was the June 2019 Writer in Residence for Open Book, and was named a CBC Writer to Watch. She received an MFA in fiction from Columbia University, was a John Gardner Fiction Fellow at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and is an alumnus of the Banff Centre Writing Studio. Zalika is currently working on a young-adult fantasy novel drawing inspiration from Jamaican folklore.