Butter Honey Pig Bread
AuthorFrancesca Ekwuyasi
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
GenreLiterary fiction
PublisherArsenal Pulp Press
Publication date
September 3, 2020
Media typePrint, ebook, kindle, audio
ISBN9781551528236
1st ed Paperback
OCLC1140380383

Butter Honey Pig Bread is Francesca Ekwuyasi's debut novel, published on September 3, 2020 by Arsenal Pulp Press.

The book tells the story of three women, Kambirinachi and her twin daughters, Kehinde and Taiye, and takes place over three continents. Its main themes include food, family, and forgiveness.[1]

Background

In 2013, after completing her mandatory National Youth Service Corps stint in Nigeria and awaiting her Canadian visa, Ekwuyasi began writing and spent her days reading Nigerian literature in a local library.[2] This experience shaped the writing of Butter Honey Pig Bread.

Later, Ekwuyasi received her Canadian visa and moved to Halifax and continued writing Butter Honey Pig Bread, though she didn't intend for it to be published.[2] However, a friend encouraged her to send a draft to Arsenal Pulp Press, and around the time her Canadian work permit ended, the manuscript was accepted.[2]

In time, the book was published, and Ekwuyasi received permanent residence in Canada.[2]

Reception

Butter Honey Pig Bread received starred reviews from Booklist[3] and Publishers Weekly,[4] as well as numerous positive reviews.

Laura Chanoux, writing for Booklist, applauded Ekwuyasi's writing, saying, "The descriptions throughout the novel... invite readers to fully savor Ekwuyasi’s language. Her writing is at times playful... Mixing emotional depth with supernatural elements, this is a masterful debut."[3]

Further positive reviews came from The New Yorker,[5] The Puritan,[6] Hamilton Review of Books,[7] The Suburban,[8] This Black Girl Reads,[9] Consumed by Ink,[10] and Foreword Reviews.[11]

CBC named Honey Butter Pig Bread one of the best Canadian novels of 2020.[12] The Globe and Mail[13] and Quill & Quire[14] included it in their list of the best books of the year, regardless of genre.

Butter Honey Pig Bread was the ninth best selling Canadian book in 2021.[15]

Awards and honors for Butter Honey Pig Bread
Year Award/Honor Category Result Ref.
2020 Giller Prize — Longlisted [16]
Governor General's Awards Fiction in English Shortlisted [17]
2021 Amazon.ca First Novel Award — Finalist [18]
CBC Canada Reads — Nominated [8][19]
Lambda Literary Award Lesbian Fiction Finalist [20]


ReLit Award Novel Shortlisted [21]
2022 Dayne Ogilvie Prize — Won [22]

References

  1. ↑ Butter honey pig bread. Retrieved October 15, 2021 – via Toronto Public Library.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Carter, Sue (September 14, 2020). "Francesca Ekwuyasi's sensual debut novel melds Nigerian folklore with a personal journey to make connections". Quill and Quire. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Chanoux, Laura (October 1, 2020). Butter Honey Pig Bread. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021 – via Booklist.
  4. ↑ "Fiction Book Review: Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi. Arsenal Pulp, $19.95 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-1-55152-823-6". Publishers Weekly. August 9, 2020. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Briefly Noted Book Reviews". The New Yorker. January 6, 2021. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  6. ↑ French, Whitney (Fall 2020). "Making Food, Making Fury: Francesca Ekwuyasi's Butter Honey Pig Bread". The Puritan (51).
  7. ↑ Francis, Claire. "Claire Francis Reviews Francesca Ekwuyasi's Butter Honey Pig Bread". Hamilton Review of Books. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  8. 1 2 Meredith (March 8, 2021). "Entertainment: Butter Honey Pig Bread review". The Suburban Newspaper. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  9. ↑ "My Canada Reads Pick for 2021 is 'Butter Honey Pig Bread' Here's Why…". This Black Girl Reads. March 1, 2021. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi". Consumed by Ink. February 9, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  11. ↑ Gonzalez, Eileen (November–December 2020). "Review of One Night Two Souls Went Walking". Foreword Reviews. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  12. ↑ "The best Canadian fiction of 2020". CBC Books. February 1, 2021. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  13. ↑ Cannon, Margaret; Canton, Jeffrey; Pereira, Judith; Rogers, Sean; Scott, Alec; Colbert, Jade (December 4, 2020). "The Globe 100: Our favourite books of 2020". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  14. ↑ "2020 Books of the Year: Editors' picks". Quill and Quire. November 16, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  15. ↑ "The top 10 bestselling Canadian books of 2021". CBC Books. December 27, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  16. ↑ "14 books make longlist for $100K Scotiabank Giller Prize". CBC Books. September 9, 2020. Archived from the original on September 8, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Past GGBooks winners and finalists". Governor General's Literary Awards. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  18. ↑ Qiao, Vicky (May 28, 2021). "Five Little Indians by Michelle Good wins $60K Amazon First Novel Award". CBC Books. Archived from the original on May 28, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Roger Mooking thinks Canada Reads will be like 'Reading Rainbow Gladiator'". CBC Books. January 21, 2021. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Current Finalists". Lambda Literary. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  21. ↑ "ReL 2021 Award".
  22. ↑ Deborah Dundas, "Writers’ Trust 2022 book award winners collect $270,000 in prizes". Toronto Star, November 2, 2022.
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