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The tiny things are heavier : a novel / Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo.
Van Pelt Library PS3615.K63 T56 2025
Available
Athenaeum of Philadelphia - Fiction Okonkwo Tiny
Available
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Okonkwo, Esther Ifesinachi, author.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Lagos (Nigeria)--Fiction.
- Lagos (Nigeria).
- Immigrants--United States--Fiction.
- Immigrants.
- Siblings--Nigeria--Fiction.
- Siblings.
- Man-woman relationships--United States--Fiction.
- Man-woman relationships.
- Self-realization in women--Fiction.
- Self-realization in women.
- Social systems--Fiction.
- Social systems.
- Nigerians--Fiction.
- Nigerians.
- Genre:
- Domestic fiction.
- Romance fiction.
- Novels.
- Physical Description:
- 276 pages ; 24 cm
- Place of Publication:
- New York, NY ; London, UK : Bloomsbury Publishing, ©2025.
- Summary:
- This heart-rending debut novel follows Sommy, a Nigerian woman who comes to the United States for graduate school two weeks after her brother, Mezie, attempts suicide. Plagued by the guilt of leaving Mezie behind, Sommy struggles to fit into her new life as a student and an immigrant. Lonely and homesick, Sommy soon enters a complicated relationship with her boisterous Nigerian roommate, Bayo, a relationship that plummets into deceit when Sommy falls for Bryan, a biracial American, whose estranged Nigerian father left the States immediately after his birth. Bonded by their feelings of unbelonging and a vague sense of kinship, Sommy and Bryan transcend the challenges of their new relationship. During summer break, Sommy and Bryan visit the bustling city of Lagos, Nigeria, where Sommy hopes to reconcile with Mezie and Bryan plans to connect with his father. But when a shocking and unexpected event throws their lives into disarray, it exposes the cracks in Sommy's relationships and forces her to confront her notions of self and familial love. A daring and ambitious novel rendered in stirring, tender prose, "The Tiny Things Are Heavier" is a captivating portrait that explores the hardships of migration, the subtleties of Nigeria's class system, and how far we'll go to protect those we love.
- Notes:
- Named a Best Book of 2025 by Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Forbes.
- Local Notes:
- Athenaeum copy: Green fund bookplate.
- ISBN:
- 9781639734108
- 1639734104
- OCLC:
- 1524321053
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