‘Stuns at every turn... It's about women pushed to the edge, Jamaica in all its beauty and fury and more than anything else, a story that was just waiting to be told.’
Here Comes the Sun
'Stuns at every turn' - Marlon James
Nicole Dennis-Benn
‘My favourite book of all time’ Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie
A finalist for the New York Public Library Fiction Award
A Grand Prix Littéraire of the Association of Caribbean Writers Selection
Named a Best Book of 2016 by: New York Times, NPR, Buzzfeed, San Francisco Chronicle, The Root, Book Riot, Kirkus, Amazon, WBUR’s ‘On Point’ and Barnes & Noble
In this radiant, highly anticipated debut, a cast of unforgettable women battle for independence while a maelstrom of change threatens their Jamaican village.
Capturing the distinct rhythms of Jamaican life and dialect, Nicole Dennis-Benn pens a tender hymn to a world hidden among pristine beaches and the wide expanse of turquoise seas. At an opulent resort in Montego Bay, Margot hustles to send her younger sister, Thandi, to school. Taught as a girl to trade her sexuality for survival, Margot is ruthlessly determined to shield Thandi from the same fate.
When plans for a new hotel threaten the destruction of their community, each woman – fighting to balance the burdens she shoulders with the freedom she craves – must confront long-hidden scars. From a much-heralded new writer, Here Comes the Sun offers a dramatic glimpse into a vibrant, passionate world most outsiders see simply as paradise.
Reviews
Marlon James, author of A Brief History of Seven Killings
‘An expertly timed examination of race, class, gender and sexuality, weaved seamlessly into an engaging narrative…brilliantly written.’
Guardian
‘A vibrant debut.’
Good Housekeeping
'I think Nicole Dennis-Benn has found the pressure points that nobody talks about, and is exploring those through the most gorgeous fulsome writing. It’s my favourite book of all time.'
Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie
‘Capturing the distinctive rhythms of Jamaican life, Here Comes the Sun sees a band of women battling for independence... As well as being a page-turner, the book left me with food for thought – there’s never been a more apt time to learn about women living realities so different from your own.’
Grazia
‘A dazzling debut.’
Guardian
‘Superb, insightful debut.’
Sunday Herald
‘Vividly captures the fraught dynamics of familial and romantic relationships.’
The New Yorker
‘Here Comes the Sun was the first Jamaica-set book I read. As a Jamaican woman, that was really exciting. It follows three women: two sisters and their mum. The older sister is navigating sexuality and being a queer woman, the younger is battling identity, being a darker-skinned girl, bleaching. It’s really addictive.’
Liv Little, Observer
‘This buzzy novel dives under the shimmering surface of paradise to expose its dark secrets.’
Elle
‘Margot is one of the reasons to read this book. She is a startling, deeply memorable character. All of Ms. Dennis-Benn’s women are.’
New York Times
‘Brave, clever and ambitious… Readers of this important debut will no doubt see Jamaica in a new and different light.’
New York Times Book Review
Nicole Dennis-Benn
Nicole Dennis-Benn has received fellowships from Hedgebrook, MacDowell, Lambda and the Sewanee Writers Conference. Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, she lives with her wife in Brooklyn, New York, where she teaches writing. In 2018, she was named as an NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Fiction, awarded by the New York Foundation for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts. Here Comes the Sun is her first novel. It won the Lambda Literary Award, and was a finalist for the NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award and the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize.
www.nicoledennisbenn.com
Author page
