To Fill a Yellow House

When Kwasi and his family move abruptly from one side of London to the other, he sets out to explore his new home. Escaping the watchful eyes of Ma and Da and his irrepressible Aunties, he discovers the local high street and a hidden river. Back at the yellow house, he spends hours drawing, distracting himself from thoughts of the new school that awaits.

As the years pass, the high street remains a source of fascination for Kwasi. But behind the ever-changing shopfronts, it's a different story. Business is slow and times are getting tougher. Widower Rupert has been trying to hold on to the dreams he and his wife poured into their eclectic charity shop, The Chest of Small Wonders, but now he is close to giving up.

One October night, Kwasi finds himself in trouble and takes refuge in the Chest, and an unexpected friendship begins. As he and Rupert unite to save the shop, they each find a sense of belonging. But old patterns are hard to change, and as tensions around them escalate, difficult choices lie ahead.

Lyrical, witty, moving and timely, To Fill a Yellow House is a story of community, friendship and the power of creativity and connection. It is as vibrant and surprising as the city it is set in and marks the arrival of a bright and bold new talent.

I read Anie's novel slowly, savouring every delicate turn of language, every sentence which thrummed with emotion. Following Kwasi and Rupert through this novel was often heartbreaking, but left me hopeful too. Reading this was nothing short of a joy. Caleb Azumah Nelson
Deeply affecting and sensitively told, with a main character you will fall in love with, break your heart over, and fervently root for all the way to the last page, To Fill A Yellow House is a transporting and beautiful story that will stay with me for a long time. Original and tender, it is an exquisite, absorbing and buoyant story of vulnerability and companionship, the redemptive power of friendship, and the spaces we choose to belong. Sussie Anie is a master storyteller and readers will be thinking about and missing Kwasi long after the last triumphant page! Buki Papillon, author of An Ordinary Wonder
Anie's skilful debut novel follows the development of an unlikely bond between a shopkeeper and a young boy in a hostile inner-city environment... it rings with such keen and resonant themes... Kwasi's voice is majestically narrated, folding in Anie's authorial drive with his own syncopated artistic sensitivity. -- Tom Conaghan THE OBSERVER
A thought-provoking and stunning debut. Kwasi will break your heart. Karen Angelico, author of Everything We Are
A gentle, thoughtful and moving meditation on London and what it means to belong. The characters have really stayed with me. Sarah Butler, author of Ten Things I’ve Learnt About Love
Stunning . . . a lyrical meditation on city life, creativity and loss, and the hope that can spring from an unlikely friendship. Polly Crosby, author of The Illustrated Child
Gorgeous . . . Textured, beautiful, all-engaging characters, a wonderfully realised setting, glorious prose - To Fill A Yellow House left me all warm with hope. What a debut. Rajasree Variyar, author of The Daughters of Madurai
[An] evocative story of community and companionship. THE I PAPER
[A] vividly drawn and evocative debut novel. -- Sarra Manning RED MAGAZINE
A timely, unique and moving tale of inner city pressure. BUZZ MAGAZINE

Sussie Anie is a British-Ghanaian writer, born in London in 1994. Her writing has been published in Lolwe, and was shortlisted for the 2020 White Review Short Story Prize. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, where she was the recipient of the 2018-19 Kowitz Scholarship. To Fill a Yellow House is her debut novel.

When Kwasi and his family move abruptly from one side of London to the other, he sets out to explore his new home. Escaping the watchful eyes of Ma and Da and his irrepressible Aunties, he discovers the local high street and a hidden river. Back at the yellow house, he spends hours drawing, distracting himself from thoughts of the new school that awaits.As the years pass, the high street remains a source of fascination for Kwasi. But behind the ever-changing shopfronts, it's a different story. Business is slow and times are getting tougher. Widower Rupert has been trying to hold on to the dreams he and his wife poured into their eclectic charity shop, The Chest of Small Wonders, but now he is close to giving up.One October night, Kwasi finds himself in trouble and takes refuge in the Chest, and an unexpected friendship begins. As he and Rupert unite to save the shop, they each find a sense of belonging. But old patterns are hard to change, and as tensions around them escalate, difficult choices lie ahead.Lyrical, witty, moving and timely, To Fill a Yellow House is a story of community, friendship and the power of creativity and connection. It is as vibrant and surprising as the city it is set in and marks the arrival of a bright and bold new talent.

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