Description

Winner of the Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction

August is a God-fearing track star who has left home and the expectations of his overbearing sisters. It’s his first semester of university in Enugu State and he can’t stop thinking about openly gay student Segun, who is clear that he only wants to be with a man who is comfortable in his own skin.

August and Segun’s relationship eventually grows into a comfortable intimacy that defies the violence around them. But there is only so long Segun can stand being loved behind closed doors, and when a law is passed criminalizing gay marriage, August and Segun’s love is tested like never before.

Publisher Review

This moving debut is a touching queer coming of age story, a poignant romance, and, most affectingly, a damning indictment of the hate and homophobia that are all too prevalent in the modern world — Rumaan Alam, author of LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND After reading this courageous, heart-in-mouth debut about the lives and loves of young gay Nigerians I can’t wait to see what Ani Kayode Somtochukwu writes next — Patrick Gale, author of MOTHER’S BOY In stunning, luminous prose, Ani Kayode Somtochukwu captures how it feels to carry both the love and burden of family, and what it costs to bear the weight of revolutions – the ones happening inside of us and beyond. A beautifully written, captivating debut! — Deesha Philyaw, author of THE SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES This book is astonishing. A gay love story set in present-day Nigeria, it’s beautifully written but the experiences it explores are shocking, sobering and stirring. It’s left me heartbroken but feeling privileged to have read it – and excited to see what Ani Kayode Somtochukwu writes next! — Matt Cain, author of BECOMING TED A beautifully-drawn book, tender and moving. I adored being in the embrace of Segun and August, as they navigate the unaccepting world around them and their longing for one another. Ani Kayode Somtochukwu writes with an ease and a wisdom that belies his age. This is exactly the kind of writing that makes your heart soar and whimper in equal parts — Kasim Ali, author of GOOD INTENTIONS I’m in awe of the way Somtochukwu writes into the knot of love, bringing forth the steely tenderness of queer desire amidst great peril. This isn’t just a beautiful story, it’s deeply needed and liberating. — Saeed Jones, author of ALIVE AT THE END OF THE WORLD This timely and striking love story resonates with authenticity * Publishers Weekly * [An] achingly beautiful love story…a compelling, mature work of narrative grace * Library Journal *