BLESSINGS

Chukwuebuka Ibeh s writing has a certain delicacy to it so wonderfully observant and so beautiful Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie A sublime coming of age tale an extraordinarily composed and deeply felt debut Guardian When Obiefuna s father witnesses an intimate moment between his teenage son and the family s apprentice newly arrived from the nearby village he banishes Obiefuna to a Christian boarding school marked by strict hierarchy and routine devastating violence Utterly alienated from the people he loves Obiefuna begins a journey of self discovery and blossoming desire while his mother Uzoamaka grapples to hold onto her favourite son her truest friend Interweaving the perspectives of Obiefuna and his mother Uzoamaka as they reach towards a future that will hold them both BLESSINGS is an elegant and exquisitely moving story of love and loneliness Asking how we can live freely when politics reaches into our hearts and lives as well as deep into our consciousness it is a stunning searing debut SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 WILBUR SMITH ADVENTURE WRITING PRIZEAn excellent debut novel John Boyne A moving debut about love and loneliness Sunday Times Wonderful vivid Patrick Gale