Perfect Little Angels

by Vincent Anioke

A beautifully imagined story collection set largely in Nigeria that explores themes of masculinity and repressed desires through the lens of (un)conditional love

In this stunning debut story collection set largely in Nigeria, questions What happens when we fall short of society’s—and our own—expectations? When our personal desires conflict with the duties we are bound to? The characters in Perfect Little Angels confront these dilemmas and more in these brilliantly imagined tales.

In a boarding school, tensions brew between students and vengeful staff. An addict seeks a fresh start in pottery class. A man returns home from university abroad with confessions that unravel his mother’s world. Amid winter storms, a ghost delights her grief-stricken partner. And atop a hill surrounded by rot and garbage, two lovers dare to embark on a secret, dangerous romance. Human desires—for connection, salvation, and understanding—imbue these deeply Nigerian stories with universal resonance.

In Vincent Anioke’s tenderly written stories, characters seek love in different permutations from teachers, parents, dead partners, and even God. Perfect Little Angels is a nuanced exploration of masculinity, religion, marginalization, suppressed queerness, and self-expression through the lens of (un)conditional love.

This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. This book is defined with accessible structural markup. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order and semantic structure.

Genres: Short Stories, LGBT, Fiction, Queer

242 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 7, 2024

About the author

Vincent Anioke is a Nigerian-Canadian writer and software engineer. His short stories have appeared in SmokeLong Quarterly, The Rumpus, The Masters Review, and Passages North. He won the 2021 Austin Clarke Fiction Prize and was a finalist for the 2023 RBC Bronwen Wallace Fiction Award and the 2021 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Perfect Little Angels is his debut story collection.

Reviews

[bailzzz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this collection of short stories! There is some overlap which adds heaviness and depth. The titled story Perfect Little Angel's and Rat Carcasses, Wine Sheets and the Colour of Forever will stick with me for a long while. Incredible debut!

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It's in us, you know, to transform and be transformed."

For me this was very novel in that the short stories were thoroughly immersed in the African canon. You could feel Anioke's love for Nigeria/culture but you also feel a sort of melancholy, a sort of knowing we are capable of more.

My family is Zimbabwean, but there are certain values that seem to permeate through all the countries of Africa; the fear of queerness, the engrained necessity religion, but also the hierarchy of religion--knowing that God supersedes all else. Everyone else. That kind of relationship with religion immediately does away with notions of unconditional love, because love is conditional, and if there is ever a moment you fail to meet the conditions, ever a second... the love dies then.

And that's the kind of melancholy these stories capture. The knowledge that you're always on the edge, your body one breath away from a free-fall and the fall isn't death, because that's too easy, its a sort of forever falling, a death-while-living. That is what many characters in the stories seem to fear and that's a hell of a motif to keep up for a suspended amount of time.

Short stories on their own are such a beautiful, fantastic way of storytelling, but what has always stood out to me is when you can feel the connection between stories--this doesn't have to be literal, but in this case it was. When I first discovered a link between one of the early stories and one in the middle it was almost like reuniting with a friend. I felt an I know you.



Anyways this was quite lovely (obviously) and I've already promised my copy to a friend :')

5 stars 🌟 because I can ;)

(I also don’t know if this makes sense, it does in my head—but it’s late LOL I might have to re-edit please be kind if you see any grammatical errors 🙂‍↕️)

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short stories largely set in Nigeria. Outstanding repertoire of stories about queerness, masculinity, religion. The author is a Canadian-Nigerian writer and this book was a finalist for the 2024 Dayne Ogilvy Prize. I will definitely be on the lookout for more of his writing. I really enjoyed the diversity of the stories.

[Finnian Burnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story collection is compelling, heartbreaking, and infinitely relatable because despite the characters having wildly different lives than mine, the feelings, the humanity--- it all hits. The stories are powerful... I'd have to pause after each to absorb it, but then almost immediately picked it back up to read another. This isn't an easy read - it's sometimes painful in the subject matter but the journey is absolutely worth it. There are some definitely standouts but since I devoured the book so quickly, I'm going to reread my favourites before I pick a number one.

[Kelly Pedro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection will not disappoint, not only because it was nominated for a host of literary awards but because the stories are so searing and tightly woven together, offering a masterclass in the short story. We were lucky enough to go to the launch of the collection in Waterloo and listen to Vincent read an excerpt. My husband began reading the collection when we got home and read it in one sitting, declaring it one of the best short story collections he’s read. Believe the hype and pick up this beauty of a book.

[Enid Wray]

What a brilliant collection. I read it in one sitting.

There is one story that brings new meaning to the concept of a “short” story as it is less than two (2) pages long.

Titled “My Americanah” it is more than just a little nod to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s My Americanah (how can it have been twenty (20) years since that was published???).

Does it ever pack a punch! A definite example of where less is more.

Highly recommended.

[amanieyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very impressive debut novel. The collection of short stories was a unique and interesting in the way that he was able to connect characters, subplots, and themes. However, this method of storytelling also made it difficult to remain engaged and captivated. I think a long-form novel from this author would be next level

[Nomadic Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories are stunning and so hard-hitting. The final one felt like a novel climax. I'll be thinking about them for a long time.

[bibliophagy · Rating 5 out of 5]

i usually struggle with books of short stories, but i keep reading them anyway. so glad i did! this is the most beautifully human book of short stories ive ever encountered. will return to it again 🖤

[Kosa Akaraiwe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely collection of short stories! Love how some of them tie into each other as well

[radioHUGO · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t wait to read more of Vincent Anioke’s work. this collection of short stories has genuinely got me back into reading after a spell of not being able to finish any books

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read.
Each character, each short story as captivating as the next one. How quickly we get pulled in, how we don’t want to see the story end. From stories of love, grief, queerness, god, mischief, masculinity. The interconnectedness that is at play won’t let you out this book down.
Thank you for sharing these stories with us Vincent.
We can’t wait to read more of your work.

[Zilla Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is nominated for the prestigious Writers Trust Dayna Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ writers. PLA is a wonder. It consists of fourteen stories set mostly in Anioke’s native Nigeria, which wrestle with issues of growing up, sex and sexuality in a post-colonial, repressive society, and family trauma.

The first story, Ogbuefi, sets up the dichotomies in the rest of the book - tradition vs individuality, emotion and vulnerability vs. toughness.

The Stars Yet Undiscovered introduces us to a recurring character, Chibuike, who is robbed, and this incident will have far-reaching consequences.

Mr Yemi’s Revenge is one of my favourites - set in a boarding school, it shows the capricious nature of colonial-style discipline in the lives of the boys.

Nwanne Mu is a poignant story about the bond between siblings.

My Americanah, with a title that is a nod to the great Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, is a short but powerful coming out story.

Fake Hydrangea revisits the sibling bond between two orphans.

Hey, stop blaming your dead mother’s fists (great title!) is a short meditation by one of the characters from the previous story.

A Keener Eye is a gorgeous story of a displaced Nigerian in Toronto.

All the Failures of Her Being is another favourite - it’s about a conservative family’s reaction to a woman’s betrayal by her lover. I felt such rage and sorrow reading this because of the expert depiction of the woman’s isolation by Vincent.

Ekenedikichukwu Hated God revisits the robbery in the second story from a different perspective. It took my breath away. It’s a reminder that there is always, always another story.

Mama’s Lullabies was shortlisted for the Writers Trust Bronwen Wallace prize. This story is simply stunning - it chronicles the end of a heterosexual relationship where one partner is gay.

The Alchemy of His Mirror is also set in Canada and discusses male friendship.

The title story, Perfect Little Angels, takes place in diary form and is another favourite - a devastating story that brings home the consequences of requiring gay people to suppress and deny their sexuality.

Finally, Rat Carcasses, Wine Sheets and the Colour of Forever, the longest story, returns to the tale of Chibuike. Told from the perspective of a hotel room cleaner, largely unseen but seeing everything, this story symbolizes Vincent as writer - a keen observer of the country he now lives outside of, with more sexual freedom, but the painful separation from home, and lingering colonial trauma.

Vincent is a beautiful writer. His prose is so tight, so eloquent without ever feeling pretentious or overwritten, so assured and yet fresh. You do not have to be gay or Nigerian or Black to appreciate the universality of these stories - the wounds we carry, the parts of our selves we hide, the choices we make to wound or heal others. This book is a gem - read it! 🖤

[Carrie Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Injuries to our sense of self take root early...
Tender, intimate, and hopeful—some of these have really stuck with me.

Ogbuefi - 5
An Igbo title of honor, and a young boy’s struggle to emulate his culture's ideas of dominance, strength, and aggression to attain it. The first markings of emotional suppression.

The Stars Yet Undiscovered - 4.5
Oof... that old adage, that ‘women are taught to find someone and men are taught to be someone,’ and how we can end up feeling lost and disempowered because of it. The effects of emotional suppression and rigid gender roles.

Mr. Yemi’s Revenge - 4.5
Emotional suppression, aggression, and dominance—surprisingly, I felt compelled to read this, the inner workings of a Nigerian boarding school. Reflections on how boys who defy societal ideals of masculinity to stay true to themselves often do so in isolation, and the value of healthy forms of aggression—such as rebellion against toxic norms.

Nwanne Mu - 4.5
'My Sister' was a sweet exploration of how sibling bonds change over time, highlighting a phase in a young boy's life where he experiences the struggle of being in a liminal space—feeling distant from girls but not yet being a man.

And then, among the ones that are a bit heavier...

My Americanah - 5
So short. So powerful...

All the Failures of Her Being - 5
Needed a walk and a good cry after this.

Mama’s Lullabies - 5
I love the compassion and respect this ended with.

[Zite · Rating 5 out of 5]

VINCENT!!?!???!?

This book is a masterpiece. The stories are harrowing and beautiful and maddening and speak the language of the spirit. Thank you for this gift, Vincent Anioke.