A moving tale of hope and survival in the 1960s, where race and class collide in the British welfare stateAdah's life in London has not turned out as she had imagined when she moved from Nigeria to join her husband. Now that she is a single mother living in a dank, crumbling council state in North London with her five young children, her options are very limited indeed. The more Adah learns about the complicated system that keeps her family safe but trapped in poverty, the more determined she is to escape the confines of her new world and create a better life for her family.In the Ditch, Emecheta's debut novel, began life as a column in the New Statesman. Drawing on first-hand experience, an unflinching eye for detail and unfailing sense of humour, Emecheta paints a moving picture of life for the most vulnerable families in British society- the difficult choices and false hopes as well as the unexpected friendships that prove essential for survival.
Sad, sonorous, occasionally hilarious, an extraordinary first novel -- Adrianne Blue The Washington Post
Striking . . . a world rarely brought to life on the page with the candor and intensity of firsthand experience . . . brings sexism and classism into equal focus -- Lucy Scholes The Paris Review
Bold, brave, defiant, and determined, Buchi Emecheta graced the world with her first novel in 1972 -- Eashani Chavda gal-dem
A pioneer among Black female novelists . . . Emecheta writes with an appealingly jocular tone . . . In the Ditch remains politically pertinent as well as entertaining . . . its charm comes not only from its basis in fact, but also in its author’s skill for capturing the truest quirks of human character -- Ellen Peirson-Hagger The Observer
Buchi Emecheta was evidently extraordinarily gifted as well as extremely determined... Adah's story is told with empathy and humour. This is about survival in the face of almost insurmountable odds... In The Ditch is [also] a powerful critique of a stigmatising system, rife with contradictions and replete with negative stereotypes about people who are so urgently in need of support -- Marjorie Mayo The Morning Star
Buchi Emecheta (1944-2017) was born in Lagos, Nigeria and moved to London in 1961. A writer and academic, she wrote sixteen novels, three children's stories and numerous articles and television plays.
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