Hopeless Kingdom
Kgshak Akec
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 MILES FRANKLIN LITERARY AWARD
Akita’s family have always kept moving to survive. Sudan to Cairo. Cairo to Sydney. Sydney to Geelong.
Each new place challenges Akita, her siblings and her parents. Just when eight-year-old Akita is feeling settled for the first time in her life, her parents decide to relocate to Geelong. The move is the beginning of a downward spiral that threatens to unravel the fabric of their family and any hope for finding peace and belonging. Told through the interchanging perspectives of Akita and her mother, Taresai, this coming of age story shines a light on the generational curses of trauma, complex family dynamics, and how it feels to love someone unconditionally, even when it hurts. Individually, the female narrators experience racism, rejection and despair, but together their narratives reveal a resilience of spirit and determination to transcend expectations of what a daughter, a sister, and a mother can be. Hopeless Kingdom gives a voice to the silent heartache of searching for acceptance in an adopted society which can’t look past the surface of skin colour.
Hopeless Kingdom is the winner of the 2021 Dorothy Hewett Award. Inspired by the author’s own experience of migration from Africa to Australia, this story signals a powerful new voice in Australian writing.
Sounding with humanity and hope, Hopeless Kingdom is a novel of national significance which gives voice to silent memories of migration and ultimately transforms the Australian literary landscape.
Akec is an expert in building subtle tension... a powerfully discerning novel that captures both the devastating lows of familial love, and the small pockets of joy that make a life worth living.
A shining debut novel. Akec’s prose is captivating and draws you in.
- Awards
-
Shortlisted for the 2023 Miles Franklin Literary Award
- Awards
-
Winner of the 2021 Dorothy Hewett Award
- Release
- Aug-2022
- ISBN
- 9781760802158
- RRP (AUD)
- $32.99
- Pages
- 324
- Format
- Paperback & ebook
- Category
- Migration fiction
Kgshak Akec
Kgshak Akec is a South-Sudanese writer, performing artist, storyteller, and a lover of words. Her debut novel Hopeless Kingdom (UWA Publishing 2022) was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award in 2023.
UWA Publishing
UWA Publishing (UWAP) shares stories, research and education with the world to encourage thought, inspire action and create and connect with engaged communities. Award-winning fiction, poetry, non-fiction and scholarly works illustrate our strength and diversity in a modern university.
