“A stellar debut . . . about an unconventional family, fear, hatred, violence, chasing love, losing it and finding it again just when we need it most.”— The New York Times Book Review   WINNER OF THE COSTA BOOK AWARD • “A wonder . . . [This book] teems with real, Trinidadian life.”—Claire Adam, award-winning author of Golden Child SEMI-FINALIST FOR THE OCM BOCAS PRIZE • One of the Best Books of the Summer: Time • The Guardian • Goop • Women’s Day • LitHub After Betty Ramdin’s husband dies, she invites a colleague, Mr. Chetan, to move in with her and her son, Solo. Over time, the three become a family, loving each other deeply and depending upon one another. Then, one fateful night, Solo overhears Betty confiding in Mr. Chetan and learns a secret that plunges him into torment.   Solo flees Trinidad for New York to carve out a lonely existence as an undocumented immigrant, and Mr. Chetan remains the singular thread holding mother and son together. But soon, Mr. Chetan’s own burdensome secret is revealed, with heartbreaking consequences. Love After Love interrogates love and family in all its myriad meanings and forms, asking how we might exchange an illusory love for one that is truly fulfilling.   In vibrant, addictive Trinidadian prose, Love After Love questions who and how we love, the obligations of family, and the consequences of choices made in desperation. Praise for Love After Love “ Love After Love  is gift after gift. An unforgettable symphony of love and loss, heartache and guilt, and the secrets and lies that pull us together, and tear us apart. Dazzlingly told in the most electrifying prose you will read all year.” — Marlon James, Booker Prize–winning author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf “This book teems with real, Trinidadian life: neighbors so nosy they know your business before it happens; descriptions of food that'll have you googling recipes; feting and liming and plenty of sex. There's darkness here, too—violence, loneliness, moments of despair—and how Ingrid Persaud weaves all these elements together in one book, with so much warmth and humor and love for her characters, is a wonder.” —Claire Adam, award-winning author of Golden Child "Named after one of the Caribbean's most famous poems,  Love After Love  is a perfect storm of a book, written in the wake of the groundbreaking Jason Jones LGBT win in 2018. If you want to understand the cultural complexities of a contemporary Caribbean island life, read this novel. Persaud deftly weaves together harsh realities of an island state still struggling with a brutal past. But while this book is dark, it’s funny too; it crackles with the language and wordplay that is the everyday picong spoken on the island. This is a formidable debut by an emerging writer who understands her subject, the island of Trinidad, with all its contrariness, a place where it is still, for some, a hard place to openly love another.” —Monique Roffey, award-winning author of  Archipelago  and  The White Woman on the Green Bicycle “Restless, heartbreaking, and intensely spellbinding,  Love After Love  will stay with you long after the last page.” —André Aciman, author of  Call Me by Your Name   “ Love After Love  is gift after gift. An unforgettable symphony of love and loss, heartache and guilt, and the secrets and lies that pull us together, and tear us apart. Dazzlingly told in the most electrifying prose you will read all year.” — Marlon James, Booker Prize–winning author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf   “Persaud’s auspicious debut traces the gut-wrenching lives of a makeshift Trinidadian family over the past two decades. . . . In chapters alternately narrated by Solo, Betty, and Chetan in vibrant Trinidadian dialect, Persaud expertly maps the trio’s emotional development and builds a complicated yet seamless plot full of indelible insights and poignant moments. This affecting family saga shines brightly.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “An engrossing and unsparing exploration of love in various forms, love in all its passion, its beauty, and its brutality. The fully realized characters will take up permanent residence in readers’ heads and hearts. Persaud’s talent and courage will undoubtedly lead us into many worlds in years to come.” —Neil Bissoondath, author of  Digging Up the Mountains “This book teems with real, Trinidadian life: neighbors so nosy they know your business before it happens; descriptions of food that'll have you googling recipes; feting and liming and plenty of sex. There's darkness here, too—violence, loneliness, moments of despair—and how Ingrid Persaud weaves all these elements together in one book, with so much warmth and humor and love for her characters, is a wonder.” —Claire Adam, award-winning author of  Golden Child   “ Love After Love  is funny, REALLY funny. It made me ugly cry and put me right in Trinidad. A story of second chances and third chances, love and secrets. But, the main thing