Here Comes the Sun

Capturing the distinct rhythms of Jamaican life and dialect, Nicole Dennis- Benn pens a tender hymn to a world hidden among pristine beaches and the wide expanse of turquoise seas. At an opulent resort in Montego Bay, Margot hustles to send her younger sister, Thandi, to school. Taught as a girl to trade her sexuality for survival, Margot is ruthlessly determined to shield Thandi from the same fate. When plans for a new hotel threaten their village, Margot sees not only an opportunity for her own financial independence but also perhaps a chance to admit a shocking secret: her forbidden love for another woman. As they face the impending destruction of their community, each woman—fighting to balance the burdens she shoulders with the freedom she craves—must confront long-hidden scars. From a much-heralded new writer, Here Comes the Sun offers a dramatic glimpse into a vibrant, passionate world most outsiders see simply as paradise.

"[A] lithe, artfully-plotted debut.... Margot is one of the reasons to read this book. She is a startling, deeply memorable character. All of Ms. Dennis-Benn’s women are. The author has a gift for creating chiaroscuro portraits, capturing both light and dark.... Here Comes the Sun is deceptively well-constructed, with slow and painful reveals right through the end.", "One of the most stunningly beautiful novels in recent years... it feels like a miracle.", "Impossible to forget.... Dennis-Benn’s writing is as lush as the island itself.... [She] knows how to make the women so complex that we believe every hairpin turn of her plot.", "The book vividly captures the fraught dynamics of familial and romantic relationships... Poignant.", "Similarities to fellow Caribbean writer Edwidge Danticat, or early V.S. Naipaul, are plentiful... [A] rich, accomplished novel."

Nicole Dennis-Benn is the author of Here Comes the Sun, a New York Times Notable Book and winner of the Lambda Literary Award. Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, she teaches at Princeton and lives with her wife in Brooklyn, New York.