Sep 30

Sep 30 Ghostroots

About the book

Author: 'Pemi Aguda
Publisher: W.W. Norton

More info:
The StoryGraph | Goodreads
Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the review.

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Bookshop.org

My Review

Ahead of the National Book Awards’ longlist announcements, I listed “great and weird short stories” among my wishes for the Fiction nominees. And y’all. Lauren Groff & co DELIVERED with this collection! It hadn’t been on my radar before the longlist, but I’m so glad to have been introduced. It took me by surprise and became one of my favorites on the list.

As you might guess once you notice that the lamb on the cover is not, in fact, wearing a red scarf, these stories are dark. They’re also deliciously vivid and inventive with a hint of the paranormal in the best way. They’re all set in Lagos, and each story has something clear and poignant to say (which is something I love in a good collection) and effectively does exactly what it sets out to do.

I especially appreciated how this collection as a whole commented sharply on women’s experiences in Nigeria (and more broadly), even when the stories were about boys or men. It can be hard to do that in a way that feels fresh and new, but Aguda accomplished it here.

Story collections don’t often win the NBA, but I would be happy to see this one take it! (Although that’s true for any of this year’s finalists, tbh.)