Masobe Books has officially announced the acquisition of Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo’s novel, The Tiny Things Are Heavier.
The Tiny Things are Heavier 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 un-belonging and a vague sense of kinship, Sommy and Bryan transcend the challenges of their new relationship.
After some time together, Sommy and Bryan visit the bustling city of Lagos, Nigeria for the summer break, where Sommy hopes to reconcile with Mezie and Bryan hopes 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 graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and a fourth-year PhD student in Creative Writing at Florida State University, Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo is a recipient of the 2021 Elizabeth George Foundation Grant and a 2024 Torch Literary Arts Fellowship. She has had her work published in Isele Magazine, Southeast Review, and Catapult.
The Tiny Things Are Heavier is set to hit bookstores across Nigeria on 7 July 2025!
Bakare Oluwatobiloba
I write to educate, motivate and define history with literature. Just being me!
