RIVER MUMMA
by Zalika Reid-Benta
As much as I follow lists and Bookstagram and listen to friends’ recommendations, I also love just picking up a random book that catches my eye in a display at my library. I found River Mumma amongst a shelf of books all set in Toronto. Both the cover and title drew me in, and the description tipped the book right into my bag. My instincts proved correct and I was rewarded with a charming and suspenseful story featuring a unique view of my city.
Alicia has recently graduated with an MFA and returned, jobless, to live with her mother in Toronto. One night, walking home from a party, the Jamaican water deity, River Mumma, appears and sets her on a quest to recover her lost comb. Given only 24 hours and almost no clues, Alicia panics and tells her two friends about her encounter. Skeptical at first, they can no longer doubt her story after a terrifying run-in with a malevolent duppy spirit. Sprinting from clue to clue, Alicia battles frequent visions of what she assumes is the distant past of her family history in Jamaica. All of these puzzle pieces come together to lead her through the quest and all over the city of Toronto.
Not only was I delighted to explore so many Toronto landmarks through fiction, but I also really enjoyed the magical realism of River Mumma and the portrait it painted of a culture about which I knew very little. River Mumma could certainly be described as niche, but I have a feeling almost everyone in this L&L community would enjoy it, especially our Toronto natives! (Lily)
