Jamaica Road

South London, 1981: Daphne is the only Black girl in her class. All she wants is to keep her head down, preferably in a book. The easiest way to survive is to go unnoticed.

Daphne's attempts at invisibility are upended when a boy named Connie Small arrives from Jamaica. Connie is the opposite of small in every way: lanky, outgoing, and unapologetically himself. Daphne tries to keep her distance, but Connie is magnetic, and they form an intense bond. As they navigate growing up in a volatile, rapidly changing city, their families become close, and their friendship begins to shift into something more complicated. But when Connie reveals that he is 'nuh land' - meaning he's in England illegally - Daphne realizes that she is dangerously entangled in Connie's fragile home life. Soon, long-buried secrets in both families threaten to tear them apart permanently.

Spanning one tumultuous decade, from the industrial docklands of the Thames to the sandy beaches of Calabash Bay, Jamaica Road is a deftly plotted and emotionally expansive debut novel about race and class, the family you're born with and the family you choose and the limits of what true love can really conquer.

Understated and beautifully affecting, unblinking in its examination of friendship and era . . . Smith is a fiercely compassionate writer. Connie and Daphne are a gift I didn't know I needed. -- Leone Ross, author of THIS ONE SKY DAY Young love, enduring friendship and the complexity and vibrancy of multi-generational Caribbean families set in 1980s London, this moving coming-of-age novel tackles contemporary issues of race, class and belonging. Smith's evocative prose had me thinking about Connie and Daphne long after I closed the book. An impressive debut from an exciting new voice. -- Diana McCaulay, author of A HOUSE FOR MISS PAULINE A powerful, beautiful portrait of lives that are being lived every day, histories that are being written over and love that fights through every possible challenge thrown its way. Jamaica Road is a truly incredible novel of wisdom, pain and joy . . . Lisa Smith is a storyteller of immense talent. -- Ore Agbaje-Williams, author of THE THREE OF US Jamaica Road exudes love. Even amidst the violent roil of history, Lisa Smith renders her heroine Daphne's adventures in romance, friendship and family, with a wisdom and warmth that jumps off the page. -- Vanessa Chan, author of THE STORM WE MADE Full of 1980s south London nostalgia, Jamaica Road is a beautiful story about love, friendship and the importance of community. Daphne and Connie leap off the page as real historical events serve as the backdrop to their own struggles and triumphs. A wonderful read. -- Louise Hare, the author of MISS ALDRIDGE REGRETS A tender, marvellous ode to love in all its forms: familial, communal, romantic. Written with care and wisdom, these characters are some of the most memorable fictional persons I've come across in a long time. Lisa Smith is an inspiration. -- Alexia Arthurs, author of HOW TO LOVE A JAMAICAN Jamaica Road masterfully spans a decade, introducing us to unforgettable characters as they navigate love, loss, injustice and hope in 1980s London. An immersive debut full of heart. -- Jenny Tinghui Zhang, author of FOUR TREASURES OF THE SKY Jamaica Road describes the journeys of its characters with loving and meticulous detail. Through the eyes of her heroine-the plucky, determined Daphne-Lisa Smith deftly portrays a world in flux, in which tenderness and solidarity thrive in spite of and in response to the pervasive and intertwined forces of racial, political and patriarchal violence. A wise and moving tale of love, loss, redemption and renewal. -- Gina Chung, author of SEA CHANGE and GREEN FROG A deeply affecting story of love and friendship. Daphne's voice is transporting as she turns her sharp eye on the decade unfolding around her while trying to unravel the tangled loyalties at home. Lisa Smith has crafted a beautifully expansive, immersive and vividly detailed tale. -- Sarah Marsh, author of A SIGN OF HER OWN Lisa Smith's deft weaving of the story of Daphne and Connie's friendship set against the backdrop of a febrile 1980s London makes for a hugely immersive and wonderfully entertaining read. Jamaica Road is bursting with heart. I highly recommend it. -- Carole Hailey, author of SCENES FROM A TRAGEDY Jamaica Road is a tender and moving coming-of-age story. With a keen eye for emotional nuance amid life's complexities, Lisa Smith shows us how friendship and love can endure, even when tested by time and tragedy. -- Anissa Gray, author of THE CARE AND FEEDING OF RAVENOUSLY HUNGRY GIRLS and LIFE AND OTHER LOVE SONGS Jamaica Road shines in its incredible, portrayal of British multiculturalism in the eighties - Daphne's desperate pre-teen struggles to fit in are heartbreaking. -- Letitia Jarrett A compelling exploration of the awkward beauty of coming-of-age, the exhilarating torrent of young love, and the complicated quest of immigrant home-making-all packed into a considered inter-family drama rife with secrets, surprises and characters you can root for. -- Christina Cooke, author of BROUGHTUPSY

Lisa Smith is a writer from South London born to Caribbean parents. She has an MA in Creative & Life Writing from Goldsmiths, University of London, where she won the Pat Kavanagh Prize in 2019. Her short story Auld Lang Syne won the 2017 Guardian 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize and in 2020 she was selected to join the London Library Emerging Writers Programme. Jamaica Road is her first novel.

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