We sit down and talk with Jessica George, author of one of the most thrilling debut novels, MAAME. A New York Times bestseller and already being turned into a TV series set in London, her loveable protagonist takes us on an exciting yet emotional tale of self-discovery. We cheer Maddie from the sidelines as she navigates flatshares, dating apps, microaggressions at work, the shock of grief and learning how to become the woman she wants to be: “I was raised to be MAAME, now I want to be me.”
You can listen to the full interview or read the excerpt below.
I firstly just want to say how tremendously moved I was by the story of Maddie and just watching her journey in my mind as I was reading these words. I mean, it truly took me on an emotional rollercoaster that I don’t think I’ve experienced in a long time so I thank you for that and for bringing this story so authentically to readers.
Ah, thank you for saying that, that’s like the ultimate compliment.
Thank you! So I just want to start by talking about your entry into writing. You studied English literature at the University of Sheffield so your affinity for writing is without a doubt. But in terms of your experience with reading and writing, what was the moment you said this is my time to put my words out there and get this story told?
So MAAME is the sixth book I’ve written, I’ve written five before intending to get published, and it wasn’t until I kind of decided that I didn’t want to study law, which was going to be the first career I went into. So I studied International Business because after I decided I couldn’t do law, I was like I’ll do something that’s financially secure, something that will be financially stable, and at the time, everyone was saying you can do anything with International Business.
I did that for a year and I hated it, and it was on my way home that I decided to leave after the first year. I said well, what else can you do? The two answers were reading and writing. So that’s when I went on to study English Literature and that’s when I started writing.
I think that was a very similar experience for me! I did Comparative Literature at university. But before that, it was very much law, maths-orientated because you have that mindset you need stability, you need something that’s going to pay the bills and set yourself up for the future. But essentially, at the end of the day, creativity took the lead.
You have these beautifully fleshed-out characters in the story and you say in the epilogue your two friends, Ashley and Camila, had a tremendous influence on Nia and Shu. You can see these influences in the story because the relationships are portrayed so authentically. So in terms of coming to those characters, did you have these stories in the back of your mind and it came into fruition on page or were there moments where these characters kind of popped up at a different moment in time and then got wrapped up into the story?
I guess that’s the case with some of the characters. When I first started writing and I knew Maddie had to have some friends she could rely on, it was almost instant that I started writing about my two best friends because they’re just so easy to write. They’re genuinely amazing people.
I get a lot of comments about Nia and Shu: “I hope they’re real people!” and I’m like, yes! Some of the other characters, mainly boyfriends or men in Maddie’s life, they’re kind of inspired by lots of different people and I’ve taken bits and pieces to make someone whole. But, interestingly, the most loved characters are quite true to life.
This story is about this constant journey of self-discovery, no matter what scenario she finds herself in, which I think is the most beautiful thing. You start the book with an idea of where you think it might be going but it takes a turn, and there’s this unravelling and emotional rumbling that comes from it. But having those friendships she refers to in the back of her mind and watching them become integral to her journey in the middle and the end, helps us relate to Maddie so much more, as we all have these people in our lives who help us with our journeys.
Again, about that journey of constant self-discovery, I found myself on the train giggling about her experience with men and thinking to myself, ah, that’s so sweet. But then thinking in the back of my mind, I’ve had experiences where I‘ve been in situations that are not 100% healthy for me but I didn’t realise it at the time. In terms of coming to those situations, how do you attend to them so authentically and make them not so quote-on-quote cheesy?
Sadly, it’s all experience I think! My friends and I have stories and it made sense for Maddie to go through them. I guess at her age, 25/26, you’d expect her to have one or two boyfriends but because she’s completely new to this, I had to go back in years and remember what it was like. I don’t like to use the word naive but Maddie is naive, very sweet, and very trusting. So things like realising when you can and can’t trust someone, those things come from experience. I couldn’t have written it authentically if not for me or someone I know very closely having lived through it.
For this particular story, why do you think it will touch audiences in the way you intend it to?
I only realised a couple of months ago, my PR team and I were at a bookshop and one of the booksellers said the young carer thread in it will touch a lot of people. The pandemic made lots of young people carers. Or because of COVID, a lot of us know what it’s like to lose someone and grieve. So sadly, it’s the most relatable aspect because of the past three years.
It’s very interesting writing about being a carer. I was more of a secondary carer, Maddie is a primary carer. I thought it was odd writing about it because it wasn’t something I’d read. I’m not saying the books aren’t out there, I just haven’t come across them. So funnily enough, that’s now what a lot of people are sadly relating to.
Even though as a reader myself, I haven’t gone through the same predicaments as Maddie, you do find yourself catching onto the emotions she has and can’t help but empathise with what she’s going through. I think that’s a really interesting thing you did because there’s this British Ghanaian who has a very specific upbringing that not everyone is going to relate to. So in terms of bringing it to the wider audience, why do you feel people will really resonate with Maddie?
The thing about this book, which has been such a nice revelation is that the people who have read it and gotten in contact with me all have something different to relate to. So they’ve either had a difficult boss, experienced one of the three men in Maddie’s life, dealt with a terminal illness in their family, they’re blooming later in life, or are the responsible daughter.
There’s wonderfully something many people can relate to. So I was asked what people find the most relatable and I can’t answer that, everyone will have something different to relate to. Even Maddie being British Ghanian, I’ve had two friends, one from Brazil and one from Italy, say “oh the parents are quite like my parents”. So it’s interesting how that transcends outside of Ghanaian culture, outside African culture. What people will find relatable is going to be very individual from them.
More about MAAME
To her mostly-absent mum, she’s Maame, the woman of the family. To her dad, she’s his carer – even if he hardly recognises her. To her friends, she’s the one who still lives at home, who never puts herself first.
It’s time to become the woman she wants to be
The kind who wears a bright yellow suit, says yes to after-work drinks and flirts with a thirty-something banker. Who doesn’t have to google all her life choices. Who demands a seat at the table.
But to put ourselves together, sometimes we have to fall apart…
With tenderness, hilarity and raw emotion, the novel sharply depicts Maddie’s sense of being torn between two worlds as she navigates flatshares, dating apps, microaggressions at work, the shock of grief, and learning how to become the woman she wants to be – one frantic Google search at a time.
MAAME is an assured debut that shines in its iridescence and range of emotion; it is a blisteringly funny and deeply heartbreaking novel for fans of Chewing Gum, Such a Fun Age and Queenie – Maddie’s story stays with the reader long after turning the final page, ensuring it will be the standout debut of 2023.
Interviewed by Kianna Best
Photography by Suki Dhanda
Amazing interview! Wicked energy you create through such thought provoking questions, going to go read the book AsAP