‘Evocative and exhilarating. Christina Fonthes is a fresh and powerful new writer with a beautiful voice and bold talent’
Salena Godden, author of Mrs. Death Misses Death
‘A wonderful, vital novel exploring familial legacies and queer lives. Fonthes deftly charts the complex paths of these characters with real verve and authenticity’
Irenosen Okojie MBE
‘A captivating read from an exciting new voice’
Cherie Jones, author of How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House
1980’s Kinshasa. Mira is the teenage daughter of a family on the rise. When she falls in love with an impoverished singer, a criminal the eyes of her parents, it sets her on a dramatic path that winds its way across oceans and decades.
2004, London. Bijoux is a young British-Congolese woman living with her silent and flinty Pentecostal aunt, Tantine Mireille. Outwardly she plays the role of the obedient child, going to prayer meetings and following instructions. But Bijoux has a secret; she is in love with a woman. She has been for a year. When her aunt wants her to marry one of the young men from the church, Bijoux has to make a decision.
Vividly bringing to life the Congo and its diaspora, Where You Go, I Will Go weaves Bijoux and Mira’s stories together across two continents, two generations, through the mess of love and sexuality, and the pull of mother-daughter relationships, to finally bring them to a place of belonging – home.
Salena Godden, author of Mrs. Death Misses Death
‘A wonderful, vital novel exploring familial legacies and queer lives. Fonthes deftly charts the complex paths of these characters with real verve and authenticity’
Irenosen Okojie MBE
‘A captivating read from an exciting new voice’
Cherie Jones, author of How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House
1980’s Kinshasa. Mira is the teenage daughter of a family on the rise. When she falls in love with an impoverished singer, a criminal the eyes of her parents, it sets her on a dramatic path that winds its way across oceans and decades.
2004, London. Bijoux is a young British-Congolese woman living with her silent and flinty Pentecostal aunt, Tantine Mireille. Outwardly she plays the role of the obedient child, going to prayer meetings and following instructions. But Bijoux has a secret; she is in love with a woman. She has been for a year. When her aunt wants her to marry one of the young men from the church, Bijoux has to make a decision.
Vividly bringing to life the Congo and its diaspora, Where You Go, I Will Go weaves Bijoux and Mira’s stories together across two continents, two generations, through the mess of love and sexuality, and the pull of mother-daughter relationships, to finally bring them to a place of belonging – home.
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Reviews
A compelling exploration of life, love and liberty at the intersection of several identities - queer, African, Christian, immigrant - in modern London. It tenderly excavates legacies of home and tradition to highlight that while we may not choose what histories we inherit, we can certainly choose to remain beholden only to those which serve and ultimately save us. A captivating read from an exciting new voice
Evocative and exhilarating. Christina Fonthes is a fresh and powerful new writer with a beautiful voice and bold talent
A wonderful, vital novel exploring familial legacies and queer lives. Fonthes deftly charts the complex paths of these characters with real verve and authenticity
A rich complex compendium exploring the nuances of being Black, Congolese, immigrant, gay and a woman. A story that is thrillingly told. A novel that only Christina Fonthes could have written
What a fantastic novel. Christina gains your trust from the first few pages and leads you through the winding corridors of the heart-thumping, finger-tingling story, until its satisfying conclusion. The novel is aptly named for wherever Fonthes's future leads, I will gladly follow. Stunning!