Out this month, Lizzie Damilola Blackburn will release her new novel – Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? Here, we review this delicious, hilarious and relatable romantic comedy of a novel. Pre-order a copy here.
In March, Lizzie Damilola Black burn will release her new novel – Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? – a delicious, hilarious and relatable romantic comedy of a novel. The novel revolves around Yinka – a thirty-something, Oxford-educated, British Nigerian woman with a well-paid job, good friends, and a mother whose constant refrain is “Yinka, where is your huzband?” Yinka’s Nigerian aunties frequently pray for her to find a man, but Yinka has always believed that true love will find her when the time is right. However, when her cousin gets engaged, Yinka commences Operation Find-A-Date for Rachel’s Wedding. Aided by a spreadsheet and her best friend, Yinka is determined to succeed. Yinka is an unconventional and flawed heroine, but is that which makes her so immensely likeable. Blackburn writes with so much tenderness and wit in equal measure. It is a love story that explores just what it means to traverse two cultures and two ages.
Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? is a hilarious and addictive comedy that shines a light on the experience of modern dating. Yinka is a tenderly painted character, yet the vast range of characters at play are painted with a similarly detailed brush that allows for layers of complexities in the story, not just taking on the theme of love, but of family, the trials of friendship and most of all self-love and empowerment. It is an addictive read from start to finish and a space to embrace the messy sides of yourself.
