Queer Love Finds a Way in Nigeria
Review of the A Public Space (US) paperback edition (June 7, 2022), released in advance of the Weidenfeld & Nicolson (UK) hardcover (July 28, 2022).

Who taught them to hide? They never wondered. They were only curious fingers in the mild dark. You like it? Somadina said, not in the voice that he would use with the girls and women years away, he’d not yet learned to treat pleasing someone else as an act that affirmed his power over them. He asked because he wanted to know, and Binyelum said yes, and it was not a performance of surrender at all; this was not a game of owning and being owned, not yet.

[4.1 average rating, but rounded up to 5 for the overall impact]
Although author Arinze Ifeakandu now lives in the United States, the settings of all of these short stories were in his birth country of Nigeria, where homosexuality is illegal, and where it can be punishable by prison sentence or even by death from stoning in some states/provinces which have adopted Shari’a Law. Source: LGBT rights in Nigeria. There is an added edge behind all of these stories with the possible repercussions in the background.

I found all of these stories to be engaging. Some were about the youthful coming of age, some were of longer term relationships, some were of breakups and reconciliations. There was humour and good spirits in them next to the tragedy and drama. My favourite was the 3rd story, Where the Heart Sleeps, in which an emigrant daughter returns home to Nigeria and bonds with her deceased father's partner to the consternation of the rest of the family.

The following synopses provide story setups only so hopefully won’t be considered spoilers.
1. The Dreamer’s Litany **** A customer named Chief takes an interest in a shopkeeper named Auwal.
2. Happy is a Doing Word **** Two young boys, Binyelum and Somadina, are bullied about their relationship.
3. Where the Heart Sleeps ***** Nouye comes from America to attend her father's funeral in Nigeria. His partner Tochukwa is still living in their house and the rest of the family wants to evict him.
4. God’s Children are Little Broken Things **** Lotanna wants a relationship with Kamsi.
5. Alobam *** Ralu has been stood up by Obum while he awaited him at a disco. But then Obum asks Ralu to come pick him up from where he was two-timing him with Ibrahim.
6. Good Intentions *** Doc, a 40-year-old teacher is facing disciplinary hearings at his university due to his relationship with a 20-year-old student activist.
7. What the Singers Say About Love ***** Somto is in a relationship with Kayode, but the latter begins to ghost him as his music career begins to take off.
8. Michael’s Possessions **** Obinna comes to collect mementos of his dead son Michael from the home of his estranged ex-wife Adanna.
9. Mother’s Love *****. A mother visits her son Chikelu just after his partner Chenna has moved out. She doesn't know about their relationship.

There was a smattering of various Nigerian language phrases used throughout the book. These were Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo along with the occasional Nigerian pidgin. There were no footnotes to explain these although I was able to locate a glossary of Nigerian pidgin (see Trivia Link below). I think most of the other language meanings could be guessed in context, but I would have loved it if they had footnoted the book with translations.

I read God’s Children are Little Broken Things due to its winning the inaugural Republic of Consciousness Prize for USA/Canada on March 28, 2023. For more information see the March 28, 2023 entry at their Blog and see general information at the RoC USA/Canada website.

Trivia and Link
A brief glossary of Nigerian pidgin is available here. ( )

This is an outstanding debut. Ifeakandu writes beautifully nuanced stories of gay men navigating a hostile culture in Nigeria. I think particularly of the deft structuring of the story "Michael's Possessions" or the accomplishment of the title story. ( )