Sankofa Summary
Chibundu Onuzo

Sankofa Overview

In Chibundu Onuzo's novel Sankofa, six months after first person narrator Anna Graham's mother passes away, she discovers her estranged father's diary in her mother's old trunk. Having been disconnected from her cultural and paternal past for the entirety of her life, the diary feels like a portal to the truth. When further research reveals that Anna's father is a radical political leader, Anna becomes determined to travel to West Africa to meet him. The man she discovers in Bamana is not the man of the diary pages. Over the course of the novel, Anna's interactions with her father challenge her understanding of herself and her reality. The novel explores themes including, identity, origin, and freedom.