Heartbreaking, shocking, and lyrical, “Kipling Plass” introduces us to a teenager abandoned by his mother after her mental breakdown. Set in a multiracial Guyanese village during the 1980s economic collapse, the novel grapples with the tensions between social solidarity and dog-eat-dog individualistic ruthlessness.

Amidst crumbling social structures, Kipling Plass and his teenage friends navigate physical and emotional survival, all while wrestling with their own confusions of sexual and social identity.

This compelling literary fiction debut promises to be among the very best novels you’ve encountered.