Where You Go, I Will Go: the emotional and redemptive family saga
Author(s): Christina Fonthes (Author)
- Publisher: Tinder Press
- Publication Date: 16 April 2026
- Language: English
- Print length: 368 pages
- ISBN-10: 103541189X
- ISBN-13: 9781035411894
Book Description
Two women search for a place of belonging, in this stunning novel that will break your heart and lift you up.
'A stunning novel and a dynamic intergenerational tale' Bernardine Evaristo
'A fresh voice in the global narrative of women's lives' Charmaine Wilkerson
'A wonderful, vital novel' Irenosen Okojie MBE
'Evocative and exhilarating' Salena Godden
'A captivating read from an exciting new voice' Cherie Jones
1980's Kinshasa. Mira is the teenage daughter of a family on the rise. When she falls in love with an impoverished singer, a criminal the eyes of her parents, it sets her on a dramatic path that winds its way across oceans and decades.
2004, London. Bijoux is a young British-Congolese woman living with her silent and flinty Pentecostal aunt, Tantine Mireille. Outwardly she plays the role of the obedient child, going to prayer meetings and following instructions. But Bijoux has a secret; she is in love with a woman. She has been for a year. When her aunt wants her to marry one of the young men from the church, Bijoux has to make a decision.
Vividly bringing to life the Congo and its diaspora, Where You Go, I Will Go weaves Bijoux and Mira's stories together across two continents, two generations, through the mess of love and sexuality, and the pull of mother-daughter relationships, to finally bring them to a place of belonging - home.
Editorial Reviews
Review
A stunning novel that brings to the fore lesbian love, the Congo and the UK, and family and cultural expectations in a dynamic intergenerational tale -- Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, Other
A fresh voice in the global narrative of women's lives. From London to Kinshasa, Christina Fonthes masterfully explores the search for belonging, self-acceptance, and love, across two generations -- Charmaine Wilkerson, author of Black Cake and Good Dirt
A wonderful, vital novel exploring familial legacies and queer lives. Fonthes deftly charts the complex paths of these characters with real verve and authenticity -- Irenosen Okojie MBE
A compelling exploration of life, love and liberty at the intersection of several identities - queer, African, Christian, immigrant - in modern London. It tenderly excavates legacies of home and tradition to highlight that while we may not choose what histories we inherit, we can certainly choose to remain beholden only to those which serve and ultimately save us. A captivating read from an exciting new voice -- Cherie Jones, author of How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House
Evocative and exhilarating. Christina Fonthes is a fresh and powerful new writer with a beautiful voice and bold talent -- Salena Godden, author of Mrs. Death Misses Death
A rich complex compendium exploring the nuances of being Black, Congolese, immigrant, gay and a woman. A story that is thrillingly told. A novel that only Christina Fonthes could have written -- JJ Bola
What a fantastic novel. Christina gains your trust from the first few pages and leads you through the winding corridors of the heart-thumping, finger-tingling story, until its satisfying conclusion. The novel is aptly named for wherever Fonthes's future leads, I will gladly follow. Stunning! -- Chikodili Emelumadu, author of Dazzling
A stunning evocation of place and history that
delivers its punches with tenderness, longingand absolute authenticity. A powerful, unforgettable debut -- Wiz Wharton, author of Ghost Girl, Banana
Christina Fonthes has masterfully crafted a novel that is both intimate and expansive as it examines the lives of Congolese women in the diaspora striving for self determination in a world that won't account for the fullness of their existence. Where You Go, I Will Go is at once tender, tragic and triumphant - thoroughly unforgettable -- Jendella Benson, author of Hope and Glory and All That We've Got
Lyrical and accomplished -- Red Magazine
Illuminating life in the Congo and England through female and queer voices,
Where You Go, I Will Go weaves together two intertwining parallel stories with emotion and delicacy . . . I was so enraptured in the beautiful writing and the lives of each of the characters that I read this novel entirely in two sittings ― NB Magazine
Lyrical and accomplished ― Stylist
An exquisitely paced story that will linger in your mind long after you finish it -- Glamour
From the Back Cover
'A fresh voice in the global narrative of women's lives. From London to Kinshasa, Christina Fonthes masterfully explores the search for belonging, self-acceptance, and love'
Charmaine Wilkerson, author of Black Cake and Good Dirt
To the world, Bijoux is the obedient daughter, dutifully attending prayer meetings and following the rigid expectations of her stern Pentecostal aunt. But Bijoux dreams of another life, one where she can live freely and be with the woman she loves.
Twenty years earlier, in Kinshasa, Mira also longs to escape her family's expectations. When she falls in love with an impoverished singer, a criminal in the eyes of her parents, her choices will set her on a dramatic path that winds its way across oceans and decades.
Both women will undertake moving and life-altering journeys, through love and sexuality, loss and redemption, to search for what they've always been looking for - home.
'Lyrical and accomplished'
Red
'Weaves together two intertwining parallel stories with emotion and delicacy . . . I was enraptured'
NB Magazine
'Tenderly excavates legacies of home and tradition . . . A captivating read from an exciting new voice'
Cherie Jones, author of How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House
About the Author
Christina Fonthes is a Congolese-British writer. She is the founder of REWRITE, an organisation that supports and champions Black Women and Women of Colour writers. In 2021 she was the winner of the prestigious Royal Society of Literature Sky Arts Writers Award for Fiction, and mentored by Bernardine Evaristo and Irenosen Okojie. Her work has featured in several publications around the world including Too Young Too Black Too Different (Corsair), The Colour Of Madness (Bluebird/Macmillan), Filigree (Peepal Tree Press), Flight Journal (Spread The Word) among others.
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