A Country You Can Leave

When sixteen-year-old Lara and her fiery mother, Yevgenia, find themselves homeless again, the misnamed Oasis Mobile Estates is all they can afford.

In this new community, where residents are down on their luck but rich in humour and escape plans, Lara navigates what it means to be the Black biracial daughter of a Russian mother and begins to wonder what a life beyond Yevgenia’s orbit - with her insistence on reading only the right kind of books (Russian), drinking the right kind of booze (vodka only), having the right kind of relationships (casual, with lots of sex) - might look like. Lara knows that something else lies beneath her mother’s fierce, independent spirit, but Yevgenia doesn’t believe in sharing, least of all with her daughter.

When a brutal attack exposes the cracks in their relationship, Lara and Yevgenia are forced to confront the family legacy of violence and the strain of inherited trauma on the bonds of their love. A Country You Can Leave is a dazzling, sharp-witted story suffused with yearning, as Lara and Yevgenia attempt to forge their own identities and thrive in a hostile land.

Compelling and empathetic, wry and intimate, Asale Angel-Ajani’s unforgettable debut novel examines the beauty and dangers of womanhood in multiracial America.