I mean, I consider Selena to be more likable than Liselle. Do you consider either Liselle or Selena to be an unlikable character?ĪS: No.

MM: I remember in class you once talked about short stories-and I suppose this would apply to a novel, too-not needing to have a likable protagonist. So I’m glad if it feels organic or poetic in any way. It involved me, copyeditors, and-because sometimes things are introduced that you talk about later, so you have to make sure that comes before it-what I call information management. We never actually articulated why that was, but I wanted it to feel balanced.īut in terms of how to pull that off between time shifts and characters, it was a very painstaking editing process. I will say it was actually more balanced between Liselle and Selena, and my editor thought it should be more Liselle’s story. How did you approach those challenges?Īsali Solomon: A lot of that has to do with editing and drafting and going over it and having a visceral response to where different things should be. It was really impressive to read because it moves forward and backward in time almost every chapter, and it also shifts perspective from Liselle to Selena. Michael McCarthy: One aspect that struck me about The Days of Afrekete when I first read it was just how balanced it was. We talked about her three books in this interview, which has been edited for clarity, as well as about Philadelphia politics, Steely Dan, and the first time she saw herself in a work of literature.

Before her most recent book, though, she gained a reputation for poignant storytelling and incisive social commentary in the short story collection Get Down and the bildungsroman Disgruntled. It tells the story of Liselle and Selena, two Black women who meet at a predominantly white college but who go on to lead wildly different lives. I had the privilege of taking her Advanced Creative Writing class this past semester, in which I read some of the work that influenced her most recent novel, The Days of Afrekete. She’s known as one of the professors you just have to take a class with or else you’ll miss one of the best opportunities on offer on campus. At Haverford College, Professor Asali Solomon’s reputation precedes her.

The days of afrekete review