'Although he writes about queer lives and loves in Nigeria, Arinze Ifeakandu's voice is sensually alert to the human and universal in every situation. These quietly transgressive stories are the work of a brilliant new talent'
DAMON GALGUT, Booker Prize-winning author of The Promise

'Contemporary love stories with moments of real surprise and revelation'
BRANDON TAYLOR, author of Real Life

'Gorgeous... A hugely impressive collection, full of subtlety, wisdom and heart'
SARAH WATERS, author of Fingersmith

'Captures the tenderness and tumult of queer love, familial love, self-love, and the many ways love elates and eludes us.... Masterful. What a glorious collection!'
DEESHA PHILYAW, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

'Magic in motion... A staggering, heartshattering show'
ELOGHOSA OSUNDE, author of Vagabonds!

'Raw tender grace... A serious literary talent has emerged'
COLM TÓIBÍN, author of The Magician

'Quite simply a tour de force'
SARAH HALL, author of Burntcoat


In this stunning debut from one of Nigeria's most promising young writers, the stakes of love meet a society in flux

A man revisits the university campus where he lost his first love, aware now of what he couldn't understand then. A daughter returns home to Lagos after the death of her father, where she must face her past - and future -relationship with his longtime partner. A young musician rises to fame at the risk of losing himself and the man who loves him.

Generations collide, families break and are remade, languages and cultures intertwine, and lovers find their ways to futures; from childhood through adulthood; on university campuses, city centres, and neighbourhoods where church bells mingle with the morning call to prayer.

These nine stories of queer male intimacy brim with simmering secrecy, ecstasy, loneliness and love in their depictions of what it means to be gay in contemporary Nigeria.

Arinze Ifeakandu

'A beautiful, significant debut. Although he writes about queer lives and loves in Nigeria, Arinze Ifeakandu's voice is sensually alert to the human and universal in every situation. These quietly transgressive stories are the work of a brilliant new talent'
DAMON GALGUT, BOOKER PRIZE WINNER FOR THE PROMISE

'These stories are written with raw tender grace. They dramatize what love is like in a time when love is under siege. They are brilliant when they explore intimate moments and are superb as they render with complexity and nuance the relations between characters. It is clear from this book that a serious literary talent has emerged'
COLM TÓIBÍN, AUTHOR OF THE MAGICIAN

'These are heartbreaking stories of love and loss, as granular and nourishing as the harmattan, the cold winter wind that blows out of the Sahara. Ifeakandu is a writer of lyricism and profundity at the beginning of a brilliant career'
EDMUND WHITE, AUTHOR OF A SAINT FROM TEXAS


A man revisits the university campus where he lost his first love, aware now of what he couldn't understand then...
A young musician rises to fame at the price of pieces of himself, and the man who loves him...

Arinze Ifeakandu explores with tenderness and grace the fundamental question of the heart: can deep love and hope be sustained in spite of the dominant expectations of society, and great adversity.