When We Were Birds

Set amid the graveyards and gritty cities of Trinidad and Tobago, Banwo’s otherworldly debut depicts the blossoming relationship between two young Trinidadians. Raised as a Rastafarian, Darwin takes a job as a gravedigger, effectively estranging himself from his family, as his faith prohibits any business associated with the dead. Darwin soon finds that his unscrupulous coworkers, who use the cemetery for their own nefarious means, are more dangerous than the dead could ever be. Meanwhile, upon the death of her mother, Petronella, Yejide is shocked to discover that she is part of an ancient line of remarkable women who are tasked with ferrying souls to the afterworld. Darwin’s and Yejide’s paths converge within the unsettling confines of the Fidelis cemetery, where they discover a powerful connection between themselves and begin to understand their role in helping the living and the dead find peace. Narrators Sydney Darius’s and Wendell Manwarren’s performances—authentic, emotional, and perfectly in tune with the lyricism of Banwo’s text—are sublime. Both narrators offer heartfelt, unmediated performances and channel the rhythms and tone of this richly evocative novel.