By Sussie Anie

Publication date: 25/5/23
Publisher: Phoenix
SYNOPSIS
When Kwasi and his family move abruptly from one side of London to the other, he sets out to explore his new home. Escaping the watchful eyes of Ma and Da and his irrepressible Aunties, he discovers the local high street and a hidden river. Back at the yellow house, he spends hours drawing, distracting himself from thoughts of the new school that awaits.
As the years pass, the high street remains a source of fascination for Kwasi. But behind the ever-changing shopfronts, it’s a different story. Business is slow and times are getting tougher. Widower Rupert has been trying to hold on to the dreams he and his wife poured into their eclectic charity shop, The Chest of Small Wonders, but now he is close to giving up.
One October night, Kwasi finds himself in trouble and takes refuge in the Chest, and an unexpected friendship begins. As he and Rupert unite to save the shop, they each find a sense of belonging. But old patterns are hard to change, and as tensions around them escalate, difficult choices lie ahead.
Lyrical, witty, moving and timely, To Fill a Yellow House is a story of community, friendship and the power of creativity and connection. It is as vibrant and surprising as the city it is set in and marks the arrival of a bright and bold new talent.
MY REVIEW
A beautiful story which pulled at the heart strings and I devoured.
I enjoyed getting to know Rupert, running his shop – The Chest – selling second hand items and donating the profits to a charity chosen every 6 months by the local community. He opened the shop with his wife who died 15 years before the story began, and he can’t let go of it now; running it in her memory despite hardly covering the bills. All the plans and dreams they had for the place stay with him.
I also loved getting to know Kwasi, initially seeing the world and his new neighbourhood through the innocent eyes of a child but then his troubles begin as he starts a new school and starts to fall behind with the work, preferring to spend his time drawing, and has issues with his ‘friends’.
The unlikely friendship which develops between the two is heartwarming. There are difficult times ahead but perhaps they may just be ok.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sussie Anie is a British-Ghanaian writer, born in London in 1994. Her writing has been published in Lolwe, and was shortlisted for the 2020 White Review Short Story prize. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, where she was the recipient of the 2018-19 Kowitz Scholarship. To Fill a Yellow House is her debut novel.
























