Book Review: Cultural Identity and the Immigrant Experience in Olufunke Bankole’s “The Edge of Water” Book Review: Cultural Identity and the Immigrant Experience in Olufunke Bankole’s “The Edge of Water”

Book Review: Cultural Identity and the Immigrant Experience in Olufunke Bankole’s “The Edge of Water”

The Edge of Water is a powerful and beautifully written debut that captures the heart of what it means to carry your culture across borders. 
Book Review: Cultural Identity and the Immigrant Experience in Olufunke Bankole’s “The Edge of Water”
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Key Highlights

  • Bankole weaves Yoruba traditions, like spiritual prophecies and rituals, with New Orleans’ African-influenced culture
  • The story’s lyrical prose make it feel personal and deeply emotional
  • The book explores how Amina and her family balance their Nigerian roots with building a new life in America

Olufunke Bankole’s first novel, The Edge of Water, published by Tin House Books in February 2025, is a moving and beautifully written story about family, cultural identity, and the challenges of starting over in a new country. 

Set in Ibadan, Nigeria, and New Orleans, Louisiana, it follows three generations of Yoruba women—Esther, a strong mother in Nigeria; Amina, her daughter who moves to America; and Laila, Amina’s American-born daughter. 

The novel explores their struggles and dreams, especially during the devastating Hurricane Katrina.

Book Review: Cultural Identity and the Immigrant Experience in Olufunke Bankole’s “The Edge of Water”
Olufunke Grace Bankole is a Nigerian American writer whose stories focus on culture, family, and identity. Image source: X

About Olufunke Grace Bankole

Olufunke Grace Bankole is a Nigerian American writer whose stories focus on culture, family, and identity. She graduated from Harvard Law School and has worked as a lawyer and advocate, including as a Soros Justice Advocacy Fellow. 

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Her short stories have appeared in well-known magazines like Ploughshares, Glimmer Train Stories, AGNI, and Michigan Quarterly Review. She won the Glimmer Train Short-Story Award for New Writers and was a Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Scholar in Fiction. 

Bankole has also received an Oregon Literary Fellowship, a Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation grant, and a residency at the Anderson Center at Tower View. 

The Edge of Water: A Story of Dreams and Family Ties

The Edge of Water centers on Amina, a young woman in Ibadan, Nigeria, who wants to escape the limits placed on women in her community. 

She dreams of a new life in America, even though Iyanifa, a Yoruba priestess, warns her through a prophecy that leaving Nigeria could bring danger. 

Amina’s mother, Esther, supports her daughter’s ambitions despite her own fears. When Amina wins a U.S. visa lottery, she moves to New Orleans, a city full of life with its music, parades, and West African markets that remind her of home. 

She builds a life there with her young daughter, Laila, finding comfort in the city’s Black-owned bookstores and cafes named after Yoruba deities like Oshun.

But life in America isn’t easy. Amina faces challenges as a single mother and an immigrant, feeling both at home and out of place in New Orleans. 

The story takes a dramatic turn when Hurricane Katrina hits in 2005, threatening everything Amina has built and forcing her family to confront their past and future. 

The novel uses letters between Esther and Amina, along with Iyanifa’s spiritual visions, to show different sides of their lives. This mix of perspectives makes the story feel like a conversation across oceans, full of love, worry, and hope.

Bankole’s writing is warm and poetic, often compared to a song passed down through generations. She brings Yoruba culture to life with details like spiritual rituals using seashells and stories of Egungun festivals, which echo New Orleans’ second-line parades. 

These touches make the novel stand out, showing how culture connects people even when they’re far from home.

Exploring Identity and the Immigrant Life

At its heart, The Edge of Water is about what it means to belong. Amina’s move to America is full of excitement but also loneliness. She finds a community among West African vendors at New Orleans’ French Market, but she also faces betrayal and hardship. 

The novel shows how immigrants balance their old traditions with new lives, a theme that resonates through all three women. Esther, who stays in Nigeria, is a strong figure who overcomes her own struggles to support Amina. 

Amina tries to chase her dreams while carrying the weight of her culture’s expectations. Laila, growing up in America, feels torn between her Nigerian roots and her life in New Orleans, longing to understand where she comes from.

Hurricane Katrina plays a big role in the story, showing how natural disasters hit marginalized communities, like immigrants, the hardest. Bankole, who lived in New Orleans after graduating from Harvard Law School, draws on her experiences with the city’s West African market women to make the story feel real. 

She shows their strength and struggles, giving a voice to people often overlooked. The novel also explores Yoruba spirituality, blending traditional beliefs with Christianity, which adds a magical layer to the story. 

Iyanifa’s prophecies tie the family’s choices to their fate, making readers think about destiny and the power of decisions.

Book Review: Cultural Identity and the Immigrant Experience in Olufunke Bankole’s “The Edge of Water”
Bankole’s writing is a highlight, described as “gorgeous” and “like silk” by reviewers. Image source: Freepik

Strengths and Small Flaws

Bankole’s writing is a highlight, described as “gorgeous” and “like silk” by reviewers. The way she uses letters—without formal greetings—makes the emotions between Esther and Amina feel raw and real. 

The Yoruba elements, like Iyanifa’s visions, add depth, making the novel feel similar to books by authors like Akwaeke Emezi or Yaa Gyasi, who also explore African diaspora and identity.

However, the story’s structure, which jumps between different times and voices, can be a bit confusing at first. Some readers might find it hard to follow without knowing more about Yoruba culture or Nigerian history. 

The first half of the book moves slowly, spending a lot of time setting up the characters, and the ending, especially Laila’s journey to Nigeria, wraps up a little too neatly. 

Despite these small issues, the story’s emotional power and Bankole’s care for her characters keep readers hooked from start to finish.

Why This Book Matters

The Edge of Water is more than just a story about moving to a new country. It’s a celebration of family, culture, and the strength to keep going through tough times. 

Bankole’s personal connection to the story—she’s Nigerian American and has lived in both Nigeria and New Orleans—makes it feel authentic. 

The novel shines a light on the immigrant experience, showing both the joy of finding a new home and the pain of leaving one behind.

It’s a great read for anyone who enjoys emotional, character-driven stories or wants to learn more about Yoruba culture and the African diaspora.

Conclusion

The Edge of Water is a powerful and beautifully written debut that captures the heart of what it means to carry your culture across borders. 

Olufunke Grace Bankole has crafted a story that feels both timeless and timely, blending the richness of Yoruba traditions with the challenges of immigrant life in America. 

READ: Odinani’s Concept of Chi: Personal Destiny and Its Relevance for Igbo Diaspora Youth

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