2023 Authors' Club Best First Novel Award (nominee)
2023 Somerset Maugham Award
Lyrical, witty, moving and timely, To Fill a Yellow House is a story of community, friendship and the power of creativity and connection.
When Kwasi’s familymoves abruptly from one side of London to the other, Kwasi is both excited by the change—the new house is so big—and unsettled by his new school and the pressures placed upon him by his parents and many aunties. One place Kwasi finds refuge and inspiration is the Chest of Small Wonders, an eclectic and run-down charity shop on the high street.
Rupert has run the Chest for decades, but since his wife’s death several years before, he has struggled to keep their dreams for the shop alive. These days, fewer people shop second-hand, the Chest has become a depository for unwanted possessions, and Rupert is indulging more and more in herbal and perhaps-not-so-legal teas.
As Kwasi spends time in the Chest, an unexpected friendship develops between man and boy, a relationship that gives each a new sense of belonging. But the community and high street are changing, and when local politics threaten to engulf the Chest, both Kwasi and Rupert must decide who their allies are and where their futures lie.
To Fill a Yellow House is as vibrant and surprising as the city it is set in and marks the arrival of a bright and bold new talent.
Genre: Literary Fiction
When Kwasi’s familymoves abruptly from one side of London to the other, Kwasi is both excited by the change—the new house is so big—and unsettled by his new school and the pressures placed upon him by his parents and many aunties. One place Kwasi finds refuge and inspiration is the Chest of Small Wonders, an eclectic and run-down charity shop on the high street.
Rupert has run the Chest for decades, but since his wife’s death several years before, he has struggled to keep their dreams for the shop alive. These days, fewer people shop second-hand, the Chest has become a depository for unwanted possessions, and Rupert is indulging more and more in herbal and perhaps-not-so-legal teas.
As Kwasi spends time in the Chest, an unexpected friendship develops between man and boy, a relationship that gives each a new sense of belonging. But the community and high street are changing, and when local politics threaten to engulf the Chest, both Kwasi and Rupert must decide who their allies are and where their futures lie.
To Fill a Yellow House is as vibrant and surprising as the city it is set in and marks the arrival of a bright and bold new talent.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"A thought-provoking and stunning debut. Kwasi will break your heart." - Karen Angelico
"A gentle, thoughtful and moving meditation on London and what it means to belong. The characters have really stayed with me." - Sarah Butler
"Stunning . . . a lyrical meditation on city life, creativity and loss, and the hope that can spring from an unlikely friendship." - Polly Crosby
"Deeply affecting and sensitively told, with a main character you will fall in love with, break your heart over, and fervently root for all the way to the last page, To Fill A Yellow House is a transporting and beautiful story that will stay with me for a long time. Original and tender, it is an exquisite, absorbing and buoyant story of vulnerability and companionship, the redemptive power of friendship, and the spaces we choose to belong. Sussie Anie is a master storyteller and readers will be thinking about and missing Kwasi long after the last triumphant page!" - Buki Papillon
"Gorgeous . . . Textured, beautiful, all-engaging characters, a wonderfully realised setting, glorious prose - To Fill A Yellow House left me all warm with hope. What a debut." - Rajasree Variyar
"A gentle, thoughtful and moving meditation on London and what it means to belong. The characters have really stayed with me." - Sarah Butler
"Stunning . . . a lyrical meditation on city life, creativity and loss, and the hope that can spring from an unlikely friendship." - Polly Crosby
"Deeply affecting and sensitively told, with a main character you will fall in love with, break your heart over, and fervently root for all the way to the last page, To Fill A Yellow House is a transporting and beautiful story that will stay with me for a long time. Original and tender, it is an exquisite, absorbing and buoyant story of vulnerability and companionship, the redemptive power of friendship, and the spaces we choose to belong. Sussie Anie is a master storyteller and readers will be thinking about and missing Kwasi long after the last triumphant page!" - Buki Papillon
"Gorgeous . . . Textured, beautiful, all-engaging characters, a wonderfully realised setting, glorious prose - To Fill A Yellow House left me all warm with hope. What a debut." - Rajasree Variyar
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