Leone Ross’s Popisho is a masterful delight: a playful love story, a portrait of community, a boldly sensual meditation on desire and addiction, and a critique of the legacies of corruption and colonialism. Before it comes, before the end of the day, this wildly imaginative narrative will take us across the islands, through their history, and into the lives of unforgettable characters. Meanwhile, graffiti messages from an unknown source are asking hard questions. The governor’s daughter, Sonteine, still hasn’t come into her cors, but her corrupt father is demanding the macaenus make a feast for her wedding. Anise, his long-lost love, is on a march toward reckoning with her healing powers. Xavier Redchoose is the macaenus of his generation, anointed by the gods to make each resident one perfect meal when the time is right. A place of stunning beauty and incorrigible mischief, destiny and mystery, it is also a place in need of change. Somewhere far away-or maybe right nearby-lies an archipelago called Popisho. From the gods: a thing so inexpressibly your own. Eowyn Ivey, The New York Times Book ReviewĪn uproarious, sensual novel, Leone Ross's Popisho conjures a world where magic is everywhere, food is fate, politics are broken, and love awaits.Įveryone in Popisho was born with a little something-something, boy, a little something extra.

Ross’s lyrical, rhythmic writing is something to be savored.

Popisho book review