FIBBED

A return to the village where her mother grew up inspires and validates a natural-born storyteller.

When Nana gets in trouble for an alleged prank involving squirrels and her teacher’s toupee, she’s sent from the U.S. to visit her extended family in Ghana over summer vacation—not as a punishment but as a lesson. What she learns is complex and includes brushing up on her Twi, navigating West African transportation, and listening to her grandmother tell Ananse folktales. In this debut, Agyemang reimagines traditional Asante stories, focusing on the trickster spider as both an ally and guide for Nana’s personal journey as she settles in with her relatives and their daily lives. When exploitative and corrupt foreign White contractors begin depleting Ghanaian forests of their resources, both real and magical, the work’s commentary on imperialism is clear. Nana—with her family’s support—collaborates with Ananse to bring their actions to light and help people not only believe in, but care about what stories can teach. In the end, with the bad guys’ plans foiled, the link between knowledge and stories is reinforced as Nana finds that her connections to Ananse and her heritage are just beginning. The full-color art often presents scenery in a stylized manner that is effective and striking; at other times, however, it can be difficult to follow the action in the illustrations.

Thoughtful metafiction with an unshakeable cultural richness.