Conversations with Asale
Poured Over (The B&N Podcast)
Asale Angel-Ajani on A Country You Can Leave
“When you've been disappointed for that long in your life — what kind of people are you? What do you become?” A Country You Can Leave, the debut novel from author Asale Angel-Ajani, is an unconventional family story following a Russian mother and Black, biracial daughter as they navigate class, trauma and relationships in California’s desert. Angel-Ajani joins us in conversation about discovering her characters, the portrayal of motherhood, her literary influences, and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer.
Brown Girl Book Lover
Asale Angel-Ajani's A Country You Can Leave is an explosive and heart-wrenching tale of a young woman's coming of age in the tumultuous, and at times brutal, shadow of her mother's survivalist tendencies. The novel centers around Lara, an Afro-Cuban teenager, and her Russian mother, Yevgenia, as they navigate the harsh realities of life in a mobile home park, The Oasis. From the very first page, Angel-Ajani's writing is raw and unflinching, capturing the pain and turmoil of Lara's inner world as she struggles to understand her place in her mother's life and in the larger world around her.
Seriously Entertaining: Asale Ajani on “Never Say Never”
Asale Angel-Ajani, professor and author of the novel A Country You Can Leave recalled the lead-up to the release of her first nonfiction work when a psychic foretold a meeting with Brad Pitt and what that would mean for those she was trying to help. From House of SpeakEasy's "Seriously Entertaining," February 2023.