Eloghosa Osunde

From the acclaimed author of Vagabonds!: an audacious and eye-opening exploration of cross-generational queer life in contemporary Nigeria.'Necessary Fiction's Nigerians are inseparable from Nigeria itself: brazen, willful, sexy, dynamic, explosive' MARLON JAMES'A vital work for our times' IRENOSEN OKOJIE

'You don't read this novel. You swan dive into it, then gasp in wonder' Marlon James, author of A Brief History of Seven Killings

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORKER 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.

‘Gasp in wonder’ Marlon James, author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf ‘Electrifying’ Irenosen Okojie, author of Nudibranch ‘Gasp-inducing’ AnOther ‘Joyous, defiant’ Caleb Azumah Nelson, author of Open Water ‘Visionary’ Guardian VAGABONDS! is a tumultuous and unexpectedly joyous novel of oppression and defiance among the people and spirits of Lagos. Lagos is a city for all . . . you share this place with flesh and not-flesh, and it’s just as much their city as it is yours. Èkó, the spirit of Lagos, and his loyal minion Tatafo weave trouble through the streets of Lagos and through the lives of the ‘vagabonds’ powering modern Nigeria: the queer, the displaced and the footloose. With Tatafo as our guide we meet these people in the shadows. Among them are a driver for a debauched politician; a lesbian couple whose tender relationship sheds unexpected light on their experience with underground sex work; a mother who attends a secret spiritual gathering that shifts her reality. As their lives begin to intertwine-in markets and underground clubs, in churches and hotel rooms-the vagabonds are seized and challenged by the spirits who command the city. A force is drawing them all together, but for what purpose? In her debut novel VAGABONDS!, Eloghosa Osunde tackles the insidious nature of Nigerian capitalism, corruption and oppression, and offers a defiant, joyous and inventive tribute to all those for whom life itself is a form of resistance. ‘Every year promises the birth of the next literary superstar… VAGABONDS! is an exceptional debut’ i-D ‘Dazzling, haunting, angular and funny’ TLS ‘If you read one debut novel … this should be it’ Los Angeles Times ‘Gasp-inducing … captures the lives of outsiders with spirit and tenderness’ AnOther ‘There is nothing in the world like this book’ Lesley Nneka Arimah, author of What It Means When A Man Falls From The Sky

'Gasp in wonder' Marlon James, author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf'Electrifying' Irenosen Okojie, author of Nudibranch'Gasp-inducing' AnOther 'Joyous, defiant' Caleb Azumah Nelson, author of Open Water'Visionary' Guardian

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORKER 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.