Now Lila Knows
Description
There is nothing like racial injustice in America to teach an outsider the differences between perception and reality.
“Powerful in message . . . An engaging, warm-hearted, page-turner of a novel.” —New West Indian Guide
For Lila Bonnard, the opportunity to take a position as a visiting professor in the US has come at precisely the right time. Still nursing the wounds of one failed relationship and facing uncertainty over her current boyfriend’s marriage proposal, spending a year at a small liberal arts college in a picturesque Vermont town offers her sanity a well-deserved rest.
Within moments of her arrival, Lila is forced to face anti-immigrant mentalities and becomes a witness to the fatal police shooting of an unarmed Black man—a fellow professor at Mayfield who was giving CPR to a white woman.
The three Black faculty members in the otherwise all-white, tight-lipped college expect Lila to testify in the case—but at what cost? Mistrust of outsiders, racial tensions, even outright condemnation of others who “don’t know their place” . . . all of it comes crashing down around her as she confronts the dangers of speaking out against the police.
Now Lila Knows is a gripping story that explores our obligation to act when confronted with hatred and prejudice. A page-turner with universal resonance, this novel will leave readers rethinking the meaning of love, empathy, and even humanity.
Praise for Now Lila Knows
The racial politics of a small town in Vermont, as seen through Lila’s eyes, provides an illuminating counterplay between Caribbean and American Blackness.
— Publishers Weekly
As a portrait of Lila’s political and racial awakening, the novel is a grand success.
— Kirkus Reviews
The latest novel by Elizabeth Nunez offers a thrilling and timely perspective on the immigrant experience, racism and injustice in the contemporary U.S.
— Ms. Magazine
Timely and essential, Now Lila Knows is a luminous story of discovery and the consequences of being Black in America.
— Bernice L. McFadden, author of The Book of Harlan
In Now Lila Knows, Elizabeth Nunez has crafted an indelible saga, one that is both of the times and timeless; both personal and universal. This beautifully, masterfully written novel is at once a compelling love story, a crucial exploration of the contemporary immigrant experience, and a trenchant critique of American racism.
— Mitchell S. Jackson, Pulitzer Prize winner, author of The Residue Years