As the story unfolds, family dynamics play out, secrets are revealed, love is lost and found, in ways that resonate across both timelines. I was interested to learn more about the inheritance and Sook Yin's past; however, the whole story did not particularly stand out to me over other family dramas. While I liked the short chapters and found Sook-Yin's story more captivating, I sometimes got bored with the plot. And I also thought there wasn't enough depth or detail about the characters to make me truly care. JW: You submitted to six agents and received four manuscript requests within an hour. You also received six offers! How did that feel? Was the process what you expected? Lily is her mid-twenties and having battled with her mental health for many years, her life is beginning to stagnate. She received a letter stating she is a benefactor of a wealthy businessman in Hong Kong, her mother's homeland. Having lost her mother at a young age, and her father and sister shutting down any discussion of the same, this offers Lily the opportunity to connect with and unravel her mother's past.

A gripping and evocative tale of family secrets, courage, adversity and love. Sook-Yin and Lily’s stories are beautifully told and truly unforgettable . . . such accomplished storytelling and gorgeous prose. Brilliant’ Emma StonexA story of family, love, redemption and belonging, told with such heart and empathy. Wiz Wharton is a phenomenal talent, original, fresh, and with a pinpoint clarity to her prose that cuts right to the bone. She has created such a special book, with a story that needs to be told. Essential and utterly unforgettable’ Fíona Scarlett, author of Boys Don’t Cry She was a trier,’ author Wiz Wharton tells Grazia. ‘It was really important for me to show the mirrors across the generations, and how we seem to have come, and yet how far we have to go.’

With alternating timeline from Sook Yin's tumultous life from the moment she step on the land in London from 1966 to 1977 with Lily or Li Li in the present time as she discovered her long lost ties with her mother and trying her hardest to become independent, this story brought clarity on the difficulties of immigrants life, the racism they experienced, the trauma that doesnt get diminished even after years and the cultural impact it have on someone's life. My heart goes to Sook Yin as she was the one with the hardest life, she was strong willed but bear the brunt of an impossibly obtuse, self centred husband Julian whom I found despicable. The men in this story are pretty much useless especially the older brother, Ah Chor, I could strangle this man alive for how irrational, controlling and manipulative he was to Sook Yin. Its insane how horrible he treated her till the end of her life. However, Lily was still remembering a little bit of memories of her life in Hong Kong as well as the flight returning to London after her mother’s sudden death. She felt like there was an unfinished business. Although Maya, her elder sister, kept saying there was nothing, Lily knew there were secrets that Maya and their father had kept and she needed to return to Hong Kong to find out. An intriguing, beautifully written study of the stories we inherit. I loved being in Lily and Sook-Yin's heads, my heart breaking for them . . . I loved it!" - Nikki May Ghost Girl, Banana follows two women, a mother and her daughter, over two separate timelines. Sook-Yin was sent to London in 1966 to try and regain honour in her family. Her daughter, Lily, has suffered throughout her life as a result of losing her mother at 4 years old. Their combined stories weave throughout decades and continents, exploring identity, belonging, mental health, immigration, and the tribulations of family expectations and deceptions. The moon was appropriately muted as we said goodbye at the harbor. For all the promises we’d made, none of us knew what lay around the corner, what particular synergy of experience or accident might presage the perfect storm toward tragedy. All we could do was hold the rope in the moment, one foot in front of the other. Mumma taught me that.I also came to appreciate the dual element of the title, as revealed through the plot, really emphasising and expressing the theme of identity and prejudice both women dealt with. This may be Wiz Wharton's debut novel but I certainly hope it won't be her last. She has an undoubted talent for story telling and even though this was based on her own ancestry it became a novel through an obviously vivid imagination. Suddenly she receives a letter informing her that she and her sister have been left a significant inheritance by someone in Hong Kong. Despite her sister's efforts to dissuade her a series of unfortunate events led Lily to decide that she must travel to Hong Kong and uncover the mystery that surrounds her early childhood. The scenes in Hong Kong will be familiar to people who know the city. There are views on the Peak, meetups in Mongkok, and a stay at the notorious Chungking Mansions, where Lily has a slow time adjusting. I found Sook-Yin’s story incredibly poignant; it’s an intimate portrait that gives a voice to other women of the Chinese Windrush generation – but I think will also resonate with the experiences of women from other marginalised communities, before 1966 and ever since.

Lily’s mother, Sook Yin left Hong Kong in 1966, for London to train in becoming a nurse but failed due to circumstances. She met Lily’s father, Julian, who seemed to good to be true. Life was not easy and the bed was not always full of roses. Sook Yin was faced with challenges just by being her in a foreign land. Sook Yin left Hong Kong as she was told that she didn’t belong there, and now leaving London because she was told the same too? So, where did she really belong? The first rule of life is pretending. It was all a charade. A big bluff. The most surprising thing, however, was that as much as these people had deceived her, they seemed to have deceived themselves too. Was this the secret to belonging? Her cynicism turned to curiosity.”

Beyond the Book

So, is the book autobiographical? ‘A lot of my heart is in it, in terms of experiences. I was never left a small fortune in a will, like Lily, unfortunately! But in terms of my mum’s story, it’s true she moved to the UK, married a British man, and as a biracial family we were targeted for that. And growing up mixed race was very difficult and challenging and a lot of that is in this book. But this isn’t a memoir. I wanted to write something universal about how everybody searches for belonging at some point. It’s a very human need to want to fit in and be loved.'