Stories From The Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana

(Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!)

about book:

Named a BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH by Good Housekeeping, Essence, Chicago Review of Books, Goodreads, and MORE

Set in a Harlem high rise, a stunning debut about a tight-knit cast of characters grappling with their own personal challenges while the forces of gentrification threaten to upend life as they know it.

Like Gloria Naylor’s The Women of Brewster Place and Lin Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights, Sidik Fofana’s electrifying collection of eight interconnected stories showcases the strengths, struggles, and hopes of one residential community in a powerful storytelling experience. 

Each short story follows a tenant in the Banneker Homes, a low-income high rise in Harlem where gentrification weighs on everyone’s mind. There is Swan in apartment 6B, whose excitement about his friend’s release from prison jeopardizes the life he’s been trying to lead. Mimi, in apartment 14D, who hustles to raise the child she had with Swan, waitressing at Roscoe’s and doing hair on the side. And Quanneisha B. Miles, a former gymnast with a good education who wishes she could leave Banneker for good, but can’t seem to escape the building’s gravitational pull. We root for these characters and more as they weave in and out of each other’s lives, endeavoring to escape from their pasts and blaze new paths forward for themselves and the people they love.

Stories from the Tenants Downstairs brilliantly captures the joy and pain of the human experience and heralds the arrival of a uniquely talented writer.

my thoughts:

Wow! Just, wow. Stories From The Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana is an excellent read. A collection of short stories set in a fictional low-income high rise, this book has it all - superb writing, unforgettable characters, and captivating stories that will haunt you long after you've turned the very last page. I fell in deep with this book and enjoyed every second I spent with it. This is most definitely a must-read!

Fofana has created eight interconnected stories that can only be described as insightful, beautiful, emotional, and extraordinary. They showcase the messiness that is life and the ways in which people cope with their problems, their relationships, their lives, and their futures. It all makes for quite a fascinating read. You can't help but get caught up in these people's daily lives and learn about their struggles, hopes, and dreams. It's powerful storytelling and it makes for a delicious reading experience. I loved this book to bits!

I would most definitely recommend Stories From The Tenants Downstairs to anyone and everyone - CHECK OUT THIS BOOK ASAP!! You are going to fall in love with it!!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!