Old Drift (Serpell) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
It’s hard to believe this is a debut, so assured is its language, so ambitious its reach, and yet The Old Drift is indeed Namwali Serpell’s first novel, and it signifies a great new voice in fiction. Feeling at once ancient and futuristic, The Old Drift is a genre-defying riotous work that spins a startling new creation myth for the African nation of Zambia.… Serpell’s voice is lucid and brilliant, and it’s one we can’t wait to read more of in years to come.
Nylon


★ Recalling the work of Toni Morrison and Gabriel García Márquez as a sometimes magical, sometimes horrifically real portrait of a place, Serpell’s novel goes into the future of the 2020s, when the various plot threads come together in a startling conclusion. Intricately imagined, brilliantly constructed, and staggering in its scope, this is an astonishing novel.
Publishers Weekly


★ Three multicultural families' pasts and presents, told by a swarming chorus of voices, culminate in a tale as mysterious as it is timeless.… This stunning cross-genre debut draws on Zambian history and… reinforces the far-flung exploration of humanity.
Library Journal


 ★ In this smartly composed epic, magical realism and science fiction interweave with authentic history…. Serpell’s novel is absorbing, occasionally strange, and entrenched in Zambian culture—in all, an unforgettable original.
Booklist


 ★ Comparisons with Gabriel García Marquez are inevitable and likely warranted. But this novel's generous spirit, sensory richness, and visionary heft make it almost unique among magical realist epics.
Kirkus Reviews