Award-winning author Roxane Gay hosts this book club, where we read books by underrepresented American writers, talk about those books, and, when we’re lucky, talk to the writers of those books.
In Lagos, the women of the Falodun family live under the shadow of a chilling promise: “No man will call your house his home. And if they try, they will not have peace…” So goes the family curse, handed down through generations. On the day her cousin Monife’s body is laid to rest, Ebun gives birth to a daughter, Eniiyi, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the dead young woman. As she grows, Eniiyi is told she is Monife’s reincarnation — and destined to repeat the same heartache and loss. Refusing to accept this fate, she falls in love with a young man she rescues from drowning and begins to ask whether the curse is real, or a story the women tell themselves. Blending superstition with modern longing, Braithwaite weaves a darkly witty and emotionally resonant tale of love, trauma, family and the possibility of escape.
Roxane Gay’s writing appears in Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, A Public Space, McSweeney’s, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, and many others. She is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. She is the author of the books Ayiti, An Untamed State, the New York Times bestselling Bad Feminist, the nationally bestselling Difficult Women and the New York Times bestselling Hunger. She is also the author of World of Wakanda for Marvel. She has several books forthcoming and is also at work on television and film projects. She also has a newsletter, The Audacity and once had a podcast, The Roxane Gay Agenda.
Q's about the book club?
Allstora Tokens are your monthly key to choice. They let you decide what lands on your doorstep: Roxanne's selection, another club’s pick, or something fun from The Pride Shop. Tokens give you the freedom to shape your reading life each month.
On the 15th of your renewal month, tokens are added to your account. You’ll have 72 hours to make your selection before orders lock. We’ll send a reminder when it’s time to choose. Nothing ships until you make your selection.
If life gets busy, we’ll still do our best to rush your book if we have stock available! Rush orders cost one token.
Totally fine. Your tokens roll forward for up to 12 months. You can stockpile them like a dragon hoarding queer literature, then spend them when the next story (or tote bag) calls your name.
Books ship once you redeem your tokens for that month’s selection. Orders go out during the last week of the month and usually arrive the first week of the next month. If you redeem late, we’ll do our best to get it to you quickly.
Visit your new dashboard here: 👉https://my.allstora.com/account Log in with the same email used at checkout. If you haven’t created an account yet, select “Create Account” and you’ll receive a one-time passcode by email. Once signed in, your subscriptions, tokens, and orders will sync automatically.
All renewals occur on the 15th of each month. On that date, your plan renews and new tokens are added to your account. Monthly plans → tokens issued monthly Quarterly plans → tokens issued every three months
Each club’s upcoming title is announced on the 15th of the prior month. You can preview the pick and, if it’s not your vibe, simply hold your tokens (for up to a year) to use on another title or item instead.
No drama. Skip it! Your tokens will patiently wait in your account (for up to a year) until a book, merch item, or moment speaks to you.
Yep! You can cancel anytime after your first renewal. No hoops, no heartbreak.
Nope! We’re “read at your own pace” people. Discussion prompts go live weekly in Kiki, but you can jump in whenever the spirit (or your schedule) allows.
Manage everything in one place at: https://my.allstora.com/account There you can: — Update your payment method or shipping info — Skip, switch, or cancel your plan — Review token balance and order history Still need assistance? Contact us anytime at info@allstora.com
