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LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE AND THE VCU CABELL FIRST NOVELIST AWARD
“If you read one debut novel in 2022, this should be it.” —Los Angeles Times
In the bustling streets and cloistered homes of Lagos, a cast of vivid characters—some haunted, some defiant—navigate danger, demons, and love in a quest to lead true lives.
As in Nigeria, vagabonds are those whose existence is literally outlawed: the queer, the poor, the displaced, the footloose and rogue spirits. They are those who inhabit transient spaces, who make their paths and move invisibly, who embrace apparitions, old vengeances and alternative realities. Eloghosa Osunde's brave, fiercely inventive novel traces a wild array of characters for whom life itself is a form of resistance: a driver for a debauched politician with the power to command life and death; a legendary fashion designer who gives birth to a grown daughter; a lesbian couple whose tender relationship sheds unexpected light on their experience with underground sex work; a wife and mother who attends a secret spiritual gathering that shifts her world. As their lives intertwine—in bustling markets and underground clubs, churches and hotel rooms—vagabonds are seized and challenged by spirits who command the city's dark energy. Whether running from danger, meeting with secret lovers, finding their identities, or vanquishing their shadowselves, Osunde's characters confront and support one another, before converging for the once-in-a-lifetime gathering that gives the book its unexpectedly joyous conclusion.
Blending unvarnished realism with myth and fantasy, Vagabonds! is a vital work of imagination that takes us deep inside the hearts, minds, and bodies of a people in duress—and in triumph.
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Creators
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Awards
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Release date
March 15, 2022 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593555477
- File size: 337681 KB
- Duration: 11:43:30
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from January 10, 2022
Osunde’s magnificent magical realist debut crafts a mosaic of struggle and pain in Lagos held together by Tatafo, a supernatural choruslike figure who does the bidding of “cityspirit” Eko. Tatafo observes the array of abuse, poverty, and other oppressive situations inflicted on the characters, whose hardships are largely the result of homophobia and transphobia. A young man agrees to be mute in exchange for a cushy job as driver for a black market organ harvester, an agreement that his colleague and lover tragically fails to keep. A devil avenges a girl who was sexually abused by her uncle. Spirits known as “Fairygodgirls” give people books to help them understand themselves and discover new possibilities, as with a teenage girl who reads an account of queer love by Akwaeke Emezi. Women abused by their husbands discover a way to vanish into thin air. A trans maid finds unexpected support from her employer, with whom she forms a sisterly relationship, and a lesbian couple copes with their family’s meager concessions of acceptance: “date a girl that looks like a girl. Somebody they can mistake for your friend.” The gorgeous, redemptive ending pulls off a triumphant celebration of queer survival. Throughout, Osunde crafts compassionate prose and seamlessly combines magic and grit. This is a stunning introduction to a bold new writer. Agent: Jacqueline Ko, Wylie Agency. -
June 1, 2022
In Nigeria, vagabonds are those who exist outside the norm: the poor, the oppressed, the queer, and those who do not follow traditional life paths. Weaving together mythology and magic, characters confront the many challenges they face, both real and fantastical. This literary novel of epic proportions intertwines stories from different members of these communities, some serious, some not. The characters strive to live into their true identities, while struggling to remain members of their communities. Listeners will be surprised and relieved by the unexpectedly joyous ending. Because of its literary nature and the sensitive topics it handles, Osunde's novel is sometimes a hard and oppressive listen, but narrator Arit Okpo, along with a full talented cast, gives a moving performance that showcases the variety of the human experience, both the ugly and the beautiful. The cast really shines as the book approaches its end and the various stories come together. VERDICT While intense, Osunde's debut novel would be a good addition for any library looking to add the voices of underrepresented communities.--Elyssa Everling
Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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