WINNER OF THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD.

'Everything changed after Mama found Father lying on top of another woman.'

Blessing and her brother Ezikiel adore their larger-than-life father, their glamorous mother and their comfortable life in Lagos. But all that changes when their father leaves them for another woman. Their mother is fired from her job at the Royal Imperial Hotel - only married women can work there - and soon they have to quit their air-conditioned apartment to go and live with their grandparents in a compound in the Niger Delta.

Adapting to life with a poor countryside family is a shock beyond measure after their privileged upbringing in Lagos. Told in Blessing's own beguiling voice, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away shows how some families can survive almost anything. At times hilarious, always poignant, occasionally tragic, it is peopled with characters you will never forget.

'This is not a bleak book: there is humour and love, especially in the growing relationship between Blessing and her grandmother, a traditional midwife. Absorbing and passionate' Guardian

"An immensely absorbing novel. It is both heart-wrenching and consoling" - Chika Unigwe

"Watson's descriptions of character and place are beautifully observed" - Independent

"Heart-warming" - Telegraph

"Absorbing and passionate" - Guardian

"Readability and literary merit go hand in hand in this vibrant gem of a novel" - Costa Judges

"Skilfully treading the fine line between gritty hardship and homespun warmth ... Christie Watson's affecting but unsentimental debut earns its place in the sun" - Independent

"Funny, tragic and moving all in the right places" - Pride