About this ebook
Winner of the 2010 Penguin Prize for African Writing. In this coming-of-age novel, acclaimed author Ellen Banda-Aaku offers a profound exploration into the effects of stigma, class, and family dynamics in 1970s Zambia.
Pumpkin is a nine-year-old girl pulled between two vastly different worlds – that of her father, the wealthy and power-hungry Joseph Sakavungo, and her mother, his unstable mistress.
As Pumpkin attempts to come to terms with her own identity, she struggles to fashion a future for herself out of the torn patchwork of her parents' lives.
Beautifully constructed, Banda-Aaku has crafted a story that is in equal parts uplifting and bittersweet.
Pumpkin is a nine-year-old girl pulled between two vastly different worlds – that of her father, the wealthy and power-hungry Joseph Sakavungo, and her mother, his unstable mistress.
As Pumpkin attempts to come to terms with her own identity, she struggles to fashion a future for herself out of the torn patchwork of her parents' lives.
Beautifully constructed, Banda-Aaku has crafted a story that is in equal parts uplifting and bittersweet.
About the author
Ellen Banda-Aaku is a Zambian author and producer for radio drama and film. She was born in the UK in 1965 and grew up in Zambia, Africa.
Her first children's book, Wandi's Little Voice, won the Macmillan Writer's Prize for Africa in 2004. In 2007, Banda-Aaku also won the Commonwealth Short Story competition with her short story, 'Sozi's Box'.
Patchwork, published in 2011, is her first adult novel. It won the Penguin Prize for African Writing and was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize in 2012. Her short stories have since been published in anthologies in Australia, South Africa, the UK and the US.
She currently lives in the UK with her children.
You can find out more by visiting ellenbandaaaku.com
Her first children's book, Wandi's Little Voice, won the Macmillan Writer's Prize for Africa in 2004. In 2007, Banda-Aaku also won the Commonwealth Short Story competition with her short story, 'Sozi's Box'.
Patchwork, published in 2011, is her first adult novel. It won the Penguin Prize for African Writing and was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize in 2012. Her short stories have since been published in anthologies in Australia, South Africa, the UK and the US.
She currently lives in the UK with her children.
You can find out more by visiting ellenbandaaaku.com
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