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**Winner, Victoria Premier's Literary Awards 2023, Non-fiction ** I have come to see that I am an argumentative person who is frequently convinced that my angle, my take, on a matter, is the right one. This kind of delusional self-belief is not rewarded in many other spheres of social life, so I write essays. There is a Turkish saying that one's home is not where one is born, but where one grows full - doğduğun yer değil, doyduğun yer. Exquisitely written, Root & Branch unsettles neat descriptions of inheritance, belonging and place. Eda Gunaydin's essays ask: what are the legacies of migration, apart from loss? And how do we find comfort in where we are? 'Gunaydins work, and it is work, lands with a deceptive lightness on the page and its readers. Its weight grows on us over time reminders of the daily inheritance of trauma, responsibility and structures over which we can only sometimes wrest control. Forget vital or necessary. Root & Branch is knowing and real. — Alison Whittaker 'I was utterly transfixed. The Eda of Gunaydins formidable essays is shrewd, compassionate, revolutionary, and yes, unmistakably a genius. This book is the exorcism Ive been waiting for. — Ellena Savage 'It takes immense skill to weave personal narratives seamlessly into broader conversations and complex social commentary. To do so in an effortless manner, as Gunaydin has accomplished, is pure alchemy. This is a book I will revisit many times for both the beauty of its language and for the generous opportunities to think and learn alongside the writer. —Eileen Chong 'What has always struck me about Eda Gunaydins essays is their remarkable and balanced movement, the deft way they bring together a fierce intelligence and political consciousness with a depth and complexity of feeling, as well as a wicked sense of humour and of the absurd. They are forthright and passionate, but also playful, cynical and sharp — Fiona Wright 'Root & Branch is a book of autobiographical essays that pay careful attention to, in Gunaydins words, the materiality of living: sore feet, varicose veins, fast food and other everyday events in working-class life. It is also funny, self-deprecating, self-dramatising and hopeful: a searching and multi-faceted debut. — Anwen Crawford 'Gunaydin is a gifted essayist driven by an honest desire to see society transformed, to alter the conditions of everyday existence, so that theres nothing that we need to be saved from. Gunaydins ability to combine a searing intellect with wit and ingenuity is breathtaking. — Books + Publishing 'Exuberant writing that is at turns funny, sarcastic and dark.' — May Ngo, Meanjin 'This read will keep you thinking long after you put it down.' — Marie Claire 'Ferociously intelligent.' — Ruth Balint, The Conversation 'The writing is both forthright and vulnerable; Gunaydin offers a compassionate take on humanity and reveals a witty and powerful intellect.' — Sista Zai Zanda, The Big Issue 'Important and significant. Much more so than most other books, Root & Branch has the potential to leave a unique, lasting impression on the reader. — Roland Leikauf, Australian Maritime Museum's Curator of Post-War Immigration, Signals magazine |
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