Vagabonds!: A Novel (Unabridged)
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
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.
Customer Reviews
For the cultured mind that appreciates complex, interwoven narratives
This is like a modern, Lagos-based version of the new Canterbury Tales, but way more interesting.
Read it like a collection of stories from the perspectives of different people reacting to the same environment. Suspend any beliefs + keep an open mind.
Basically, if you’ve ever taken a higher-level English courses and/or enjoy foreign dramas (k-drama, telenovelas, bolly/nollywood stories, you’ll appreciate this.
The voices were really good and code switched really well too. This story really transports you to a different world