Blessings

Praise

Named one of USA Today, Esquire, & Cosmopolitan‘s most anticipated books of 2024

“Chukwuebuka Ibeh’s writing has a certain delicacy to it, so wonderfully observant, and so beautiful.”
—Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author of Americanah and Purple Hibiscus

“Blessings is a stunning and exceptionally moving story of love, shame, redemption and fierce familial bonds. In sublime, evocative prose and from alternating points of view, Ibeh tells the story of Uzoamaka and Obiefuna as mother and son come to transformative realizations about themselves and each other. Ibeh has an elegant and passionate way with language, from the depictions of the Nigerian cultural landscape and its tense reckonings with queerness to the gorgeous mundanities of the protagonists’ home lives and the various dynamics of religion, class, and schoolboyhood. I’m grateful that this beautiful book exists, and I will return to it again and again as if for the first time.”
—Francesca Ekwuyasi, author of Butter Honey Pig Bread

“Blessings is as raw and heart-wrenching as it is beautiful and delicate. A masterfully executed story about love, faith and sexuality that clenches your heart and doesn’t let go until the very last page. Ibeh is a once in a lifetime talent!”
—Elvin James Mensah, author of Small Joys

“A sublime coming-of-age tale… An extraordinarily composed and deeply felt debut.”
—The Guardian

“Magnificent… Complex and generationally driven… Ibeh has the ability to ensure his political positions inform, rather than overwhelm, the intimate dramas at the heart of his fiction. He’s vocal about the writers he admires – among them, Buchi Emecheta, Jhumpa Lahiri, Zadie Smith, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – and clearly ambitious. With writing this good, it’s to be hoped he’ll soon find his name among their ranks.”
—The Telegraph

“A moving story about truths that can’t be hidden and finding a way to live freely when it’s against the law.”
—USA Today

“There is an unparalleled pleasure in something short and searing. Chukwuebuka Ibeh’s debut is set in modern-day Nigeria, where the country’s criminalisation of same-sex marriage has created a hostile atmosphere for the LGBTQ+ population. After an intimate moment with the family apprentice, Obiefuna is sent to a Christian boarding school by his father. So begins a process of self-discovery. Blessings is told from Obiefuna and his mother’s perspective, a dynamic which has plenty of potential for the profound.”
—Esquire

“An excellent debut.”
—John Boyne, author of The Heart’s Invisible Furies

“A moving debut about love and loneliness.”
—Sunday Times

“A tender and enraging queer novel…A story about the brutality of Nigerian law, under which homosexuality remains illegal today…This marks the arrival of Chukwuebuka Ibeh as a significant new moral, literary talent.”
—iNews

“Stark yet tender, balancing passages of hope with episodes of gutplummeting sadness, this is an accomplished novel, distinguished by sensitive prose and taut scene-making.”
—The Daily Mail

“A wonderful, vivid debut.”
—Patrick Gale, author of A Place Called Winter

“A tender, yet powerful story, poetic and wise. Ibeh draws such beautiful characters, and through their eyes, teaches us that love cannot be beaten or threatened from the human heart. From the first chapter, this book won’t let you go.”
—AJ West, author of The Spirit Engineer

“There is music to the way Chukwuebuka Ibeh writes. There is balance. Blessings pulled me into a world I’m extremely unfamiliar with, yet somehow made it comfortable, even resonant. The intimate storytelling, the powerful dialogue, and the well-paced narrative all made it one hell of a heartbreakingly joyous read. Each chapter of this debut novel enthralled me, pushing me to the next, eager to share the road with its unforgettable protagonist right up to the ending, which made me want to start from the beginning again. On top of it all, Ibeh has provided a meaningful representation of queer Nigerians—one that opens borders and breaks barriers. An opportunity for many not only to see what Obiefuna and his mother see, but also to feel what they feel. Run, don’t walk, to get this book.”
—Danny Ramadan, author of The Foghorn Echoes

“Wow—what a debut! I was left feeling heartbroken yet hopeful. Chukwuebuka Ibeh is a beautiful writer.”
—Taylor-Dior Rumble, author of The Situationship

“Chukwuebuka Ibeh enters the literary world with a searing debut about self, family, and community. . . In the tradition of the great Nigerian writers who
have come before him, such as Buchi Emecheta and Wole Soyinka, Ibeh expresses a quiet, transcendent truth. . . Blessings is gripping, multifaceted, and
poignant.”
—Booklist

“Potent… striking and original. A sensitive, quietly powerful coming-of-age tale.”
—Kirkus Reviews