One of Goodreads‘ Editors’ August Book Picks
One of Marie Claire‘s Best Books of August
“Threaded through the friendship story is an unflinching look at race, class, and privilege, and the quiet, corrosive weight of what is owed between people who love each other unevenly.” —Debutiful
“This bold debut novel charts the history of a friendship, including its sublime joys and obfuscated ruptures, contemplating codependency, race, and privilege.” —Marie Claire
“A razor-sharp and incredibly nuanced debut that captures the intoxicating and power of lifelong friendship with remarkable emotional precision. She effortlessly explores race, class, and identity with prose that packs a punch.” —Debutiful
“Compelling. . . A messy will-we-won’t-we breakup situation complicated by race, codependency, and shared history.” —Goodreads
“In her searing debut novel, Téa Mutonji delivers an unflinching portrait of female friendship in all its ferocity and tenderness. Mutonji traces the bond between two young women whose relationship is as sustaining as it is suffocating, as loving as it is destructive. Visceral and impossible to shake, My Person announces an essential new voice in contemporary fiction.” — Carley Fortune, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Our Perfect Storm
“Téa Mutonji writes sharply about the subtle ruptures endemic to formative friendships.” —Raven Leilani, bestselling author of Luster
“My Person is a smart and moving novel about the way adulthood complicates friendships from youth—which don’t always grow with us—with a sharp eye to subtle dynamics around race, privilege, and sex. Fans of Fleabag, Luster, and Emma Cline will devour this book as eagerly as I did and think about it long after.” —Emily Everett, author of Reese’s Book Club Pick All That Life Can Afford
“Thank god for Téa Mutonji. Her new novel, My Person, covers the tricky territory of two lifelong friends extricating themselves from each other’s lives. It sounds sad, and it is, but it’s also sexy, infuriating, and unbelievably fun to read. You can tell you’re in the hands of a poet; the writing crackles on the page. This is a writer who can read someone to filth in just one line. If you’ve ever known the pain of a friend breakup, this one’s for you. Téa Mutonji has managed to take some of the ugliest thoughts and worst moments and turn it into a sparkling novel about reclaiming your sense of self.” —Katie Yee, author of Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar
“Searing. . . Mutonji unflinchingly examines what it means to lose yourself in a relationship, giving platonic bonds the same psychological weight we usually reserve for romantic ones. She also deftly exposes the subtle sting of race and class in a supposedly tolerant Canada, where racism doesn’t announce itself dramatically but quietly erodes personhood through acts of extravagant generosity. It’s a sharp, uncomfortable observation. Readers of Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, and Luster by Raven Leilani, will find much to love here. My Person is an assured, necessary debut novel from a truly promising writer.” —Booklist
“An unflinching account of what interracial friendship means for a Black woman: being simultaneously disgusted by privilege, oppressed by it, and indirectly benefitting from it.” —Library Journal
“[A] searching debut . . . Mutonji explores the women’s care for and importance to each other, even as they trade slights, [and] the novel reveals how their bond has been warped by codependency as much as inequity.. . . It’s a clear-eyed take on the formative power of female friendships.” —Publishers Weekly
“This is a sharp and sexy book, full of indelible moments when the truth gushes out and what’s said cannot be unsaid. An unflinching, heartbreaking examination of all that comes with loving, and losing, a best friend. A fabulous debut—deeply enjoyable.” —Jean Chen Ho, author of Fiona and Jane
“A nuanced and fearless exploration of friendship, family, race and class, and the extraordinary pressures of coming of age as an artist, told with subtlety and verve.” —Nussaibah Younis, Women’s Prize-shortlisted author of Fundamentally
“A fresh, flamboyant take on modern friendships—tremendously fly and enjoyable.” —Diana Evans, author of Ordinary People
“My Person offers no roadmaps or easy answers, it instead delivers something even greater and more significant—a candid character portrait absent judgement and written with a sensitivity that allows for true nuance and complexity. Through Tania’s meditative narration, Téa Mutonji both observes and delves into the messiness of human relationships and really digs into the complexities of power and control in friendships, which leads to explorations of race and class and intimacy and boundaries. What a liberating experience.” —Zalika Reid-Benta, award-winning author of River Mumma and Frying Plantain
