“That Reminds Me is the story of a young child growing into
adulthood while negotiating the impossibly difficult circumstances of émigré
life compounded by foster care, poverty, racism and varieties of cultural
difference. Derek Owusu tell this story with extraordinary insight and
emotional subtlety, almost inventing a new literary form as he takes you into
this child/man's experience on an intimate, nearly cellular level. To
call it moving is an understatement." —Mary Gaitskill
Owusu is
writer of jaw-dropping talent and That
Reminds Me will break over you like a storm, seething with wonder,
wisdom, lightning, terrors and so much heartbreaking beauty. Simply
glorious.” —Junot Díaz
“A dreamy, impressionistic offering of reassembled fragments of memories emerging through the misty beauty of a deliciously individualistic poetic sensibility with flashes of Twi and UK London Ebonics to further remind us of what has been missing from British poetry . . . I can't tell you how impressed I was and how much I enjoyed reading this stunning book.” —Bernardine Evaristo
“That Reminds Me is a profoundly moving book about Black bodies and identity, and about God, sex, family, art, love, and madness. It is somehow both tender and unflinching, and the prose has both the lyricism of verse and the direct simplicity of overheard speech. Derek Owusu has made a vital contribution to our culture, and it should be widely read.” —Sarah Perry
“When writing is this honest, it soars. I think that this is why the words in this collection fly around you and settle, as they have. What an incredible use of language and truth.” —Yrsa Daley-Ward
“Honest, insightful, and woven together in a narrative that will undoubtedly change lives.” —DeRay Mckesson
“These are words that come from the heart, the lived life and owned observations. Powerful and moving. Social realism at its best.” —Alex Wheatle
“That Reminds Me reads like an open wound. The prose runs like a pulse, builds like the beat of some lowercase drum. Honest and beautiful.” —Guy Gunaratne
“A fast-paced, dense, poetic, original, and bewitching story by an important new writer. That Reminds Me will long be remembered by readers.” —Alain Mabanckou
“A magnificent achievement.” —Paul Gilroy
“A singular achievement.” —Michael Donkor, The Guardian
