Dreams really do come true, just ask debut author Mai Sennaar. I recently spoke with her about her release, They Dream in Gold.
Tell me about your latest release.
My debut novel They Dream in Gold is forthcoming from Sarah Jessica Parker’s SJP Lit imprint at Zando in the US and Picador at Pan Macmillan in the UK where it was recently selected as Book of the Month by Bookseller. They Dream in Gold was also just named a Best Book to Read in July by Time magazine.
The publisher’s summary captures it so well, so here it goes: When Bonnie and Mansour meet in New York in 1968—his piercing gaze in a downtown jazz club threatening to carry her away—their connection is undeniable. Both from fractured homes, with childhoods spent crossing the Atlantic, they quickly find peace with each other. And as Mansour’s soaring Senegalese melodies continue to break new ground, keeping time with the sound of revolution and taking him and Bonnie from Paris to Rio and Switzerland, it seems as though happiness might finally be around the corner for them both. Then Mansour goes missing. His Spanish tour was only meant to last three weeks, but three months later, he and his band have not returned. In his absence, Bonnie reckons with her memories of him, and comes to understand that the hopes of so many women—her mother and grandmother; his mother, aunt, childhood friend—rest on her perseverance. Stirred by the life growing inside her, Bonnie puts a plan in action to find him. Spanning two decades and moving through the hotbeds of the African diaspora, They Dream in Gold is an epic yet intimate exploration of the migrant hunger for belonging and a powerful, intergenerational testament to our shared humanity, for lovers of Tara Stringfellow’s Memphis and Abi Daré’s The Girl with the Louding Voice.
Why did you decide to write it?
I was encountering a proliferation of powerful novels that explore the impact of systemic racism on Black lives. In contrast, I saw far fewer books that centered the rich cultural interactions occurring within the African Diaspora. In the US and abroad, there have always been incredibly rich connections and interactions among African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and first and second generation folks from West Africa, East Africa, etc…I wanted to read a literary novel that explored the complexity of cross-cultural interaction with the African Diaspora with joy, depth, and a sense of humor…so I wrote it!
What was your most memorable experience writing this book?
The moment I knew for certain that it was done. It took many drafts and significant revision to arrive at that moment. It was so delicious to finally get there!
Which character in the book would you like to have as a best friend and why?
Hm. This is a hard one and a great question. Maybe Bonnie. She has the essence of the powerful, precocious Black girl protagonists that I adored growing up like Troy in Crooklyn and Beneatha in A Raisin in the Sun.
What’s something readers would be surprised to learn about you?
I forgot English after living abroad as a kid for a few years and struggled my way back to fluency after returning to the US.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Photography—it makes life so much richer.
What’s the most difficult part of being an author?
Indulgence. Too much of it or too little.
Who are some of your favorite authors, and what are some of their books you love?
There are WAY too many books I love to list here.
Anything by Faith Ringold. Zora Neale Hurston (Their Eyes Were Watching God), Jacques Roumain (Masters of the Dew), Fannie Hearst (Back Street), Mecca Jamilah Sullivan (Big Girl), Marlon James (The Book of Night Women), I’m halfway through Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, and I feel like it’s on its way to becoming a favorite.
What’s next for you?
Book 2. (Working on it now.)
Do you have anything you would like to add?
Thank you so much for supporting They Dream in Gold and other books like it on your platform. It truly means so, so much.
Use the Black Fiction Addiction affiliate link to purchase your copy of They Dream in Gold.
To learn more about Mai Sennaar, visit her website or connect with her on social media.
Website: maiwrites.com.
Instagram: instagram.com/mai_writes