In Sankofa Anna Bain looks back to the past to discover herself. She travels down the path of realizing that she is related to the president-turned-dictator of a nation in West Africa, Bamana. Sankofa is a slow burn, yet a quick read. I listened to it on audio and enjoyed the narrator immensely. I haven't read many books surrounding middle age women so this was a change. Anna is trying to find herself outside of motherhood and being a wife. Throughout the book, readers see Anna fully recognise all the racism she's experienced in England and reconcile that to herself. Anna's mother (a white woman) tried to make Anna think 'nothing was wrong with her;' and honestly, there is nothing wrong with her, she's just a mixed-race woman growing up in the 60s or 70s(?)

The plot of the book would pick up pace and then slow down again. There's a lot of internal pondering on the part of Anna, we're privy to ALL of her thoughts. I did not like any of the characters in this book. Anna's husband and child were annoying for most of the book. I enjoyed Anna off and on but I liked Anna less when she went to West Africa. She comes into the country with a Western mindset and, honestly, does not try to change the way she thinks at all. She's very opinionated on things she knows nothing about. I could expand but I can't remember particular points. The ending of the book was interesting... I'm glad she was open and reborn into her African self. It was a neat wrap-up for the book.