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Necessary Fiction
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR
“I want to take the fact that I’m here seriously, because it’s serious. That lesson is so much harder than I thought.” – from Necessary Fiction
In Eloghosa Osunde’s powerful novel, Lagos, Nigeria is the dynamic backdrop to the ambitions and desires of a vast array of characters, each of whom refuse to be defined by others. There is Ziz, a hardcore hustler. Maro and his elusive father, Tega. May and her steady rotation of lovers. Nollywood power couple Ifechi and Tajudeen Adams. They and dozens more — of varying generations and sexualities — grapple with the stories they carry within themselves to survive. In Necessary Fiction, award-winning author Osunde has created a vividly queer world that is at once tumultuous and intense, intimate and tender, and above all deeply human.
“I want to take the fact that I’m here seriously, because it’s serious. That lesson is so much harder than I thought.” – from Necessary Fiction
In Eloghosa Osunde’s powerful novel, Lagos, Nigeria is the dynamic backdrop to the ambitions and desires of a vast array of characters, each of whom refuse to be defined by others. There is Ziz, a hardcore hustler. Maro and his elusive father, Tega. May and her steady rotation of lovers. Nollywood power couple Ifechi and Tajudeen Adams. They and dozens more — of varying generations and sexualities — grapple with the stories they carry within themselves to survive. In Necessary Fiction, award-winning author Osunde has created a vividly queer world that is at once tumultuous and intense, intimate and tender, and above all deeply human.
315 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 22, 2025
About the author
Eloghosa Osunde
8 books192 followersEloghosa Osunde is a Nigerian writer and multidisciplinary artist.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
April 12, 2025
WOW... I finished Necessary Fiction and I was blown away by how tender the writing is and how beautifully crafted the characters are. The author created a story about a group of friends in Nigeria who are their own chosen family. We see why they needed to leave some relationships behind and hold space for each other. I loved it all.
May 21, 2026
Necessary Fiction by Eloghosa Osunde
Unnecessary fiction.
Oh, this was bad in so many ways. Truly, the best thing about this book was its cover. This took me almost 5 months to get through - and I can finish a genuinely good book in a day.
My first observation was that it felt like Eloghosa Osunde was trying to have it both ways: critique and fantasy, realism and abstraction, representation and performance. But the representation never felt grounded in the actual people or culture being portrayed. At some point I genuinely had to stop and ask: is this meant to feel real, or is this simply the author’s fantasy of reality?
I’m also increasingly tired of writers publishing what feels like extended morning pages or creative writing exercises. It feels disrespectful of the reader’s time. A story is called a story for a reason. A loose collection of ideas, moods, and fragments does not automatically become a novel. And not every short story - or concept - needs to be stretched into a full-length book. Often times they don’t work as full length books.
The characters didn’t help either. They felt indistinct, overwritten, and strangely interchangeable, like variations of the same voice copied and pasted across different bodies.
This was a slog from beginning to end.
Necessary Fiction ended up feeling deeply unnecessary.
Unnecessary fiction.
Oh, this was bad in so many ways. Truly, the best thing about this book was its cover. This took me almost 5 months to get through - and I can finish a genuinely good book in a day.
My first observation was that it felt like Eloghosa Osunde was trying to have it both ways: critique and fantasy, realism and abstraction, representation and performance. But the representation never felt grounded in the actual people or culture being portrayed. At some point I genuinely had to stop and ask: is this meant to feel real, or is this simply the author’s fantasy of reality?
I’m also increasingly tired of writers publishing what feels like extended morning pages or creative writing exercises. It feels disrespectful of the reader’s time. A story is called a story for a reason. A loose collection of ideas, moods, and fragments does not automatically become a novel. And not every short story - or concept - needs to be stretched into a full-length book. Often times they don’t work as full length books.
The characters didn’t help either. They felt indistinct, overwritten, and strangely interchangeable, like variations of the same voice copied and pasted across different bodies.
This was a slog from beginning to end.
Necessary Fiction ended up feeling deeply unnecessary.
July 7, 2025
I am so overdue for one of those books that is so wonderful that I have to slow down while reading to savor every word of it—and that is exactly what Eloghosa Osunde's Necessary Fiction offers. Necessary Fiction is one of those novel-ish short story collections (or short story collection-ish novels). It's sent in present day Nigeria, mostly Lagos, and features a wide range of gay/lesbian/queer/nonbinary characters. Most of the characters come from families wealthy enough that they're not concerned with making a living, but those who are not prove to be ingenious in figuring out services that seem to become essential as soon as they're offered/invented.
This book makes demands of readers. Good demands. First, because it includes a wide range of characters, some of whom go by more than one name over the course of the book. The reader has to do some detective work at times to know which character is at the heart of a particular chapter. There are a few chapters I'm still not sure of, but I wasn't troubled by that. Reading this book is like finding a sprinkling of gems in a vacant lot. You may miss some, but the ones you find are genuine treasures.
Sections of the book are also written in dialect—sometimes just the occasional sentence, sometimes whole passages. Still, as long as one is able to embrace not being able to grasp every nuance of every statement this doesn't need to be a problem. Sometimes one can understand the gist of things. Sometimes one is utterly befuddled. But this sort of befuddlement has a value all its own. It puts one on the outside looking in, which can be quite a healthy vantage point for a reader. The reader is not the center of the universe. Sometimes characters aren't there simply to be unfolded before readers. And the dialect is just plain beautiful. And gems in a vacant lot.
If you like queer fiction, if you like books that are adventurous in terms of style and structure, you're in for a huge treat with Necessary Fiction. Keep an eye out for it (release date 7/22/25), grab a copy as soon as you can, then read it slowly and let yourself experience embracing what you may not completely understand.
I received an electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
This book makes demands of readers. Good demands. First, because it includes a wide range of characters, some of whom go by more than one name over the course of the book. The reader has to do some detective work at times to know which character is at the heart of a particular chapter. There are a few chapters I'm still not sure of, but I wasn't troubled by that. Reading this book is like finding a sprinkling of gems in a vacant lot. You may miss some, but the ones you find are genuine treasures.
Sections of the book are also written in dialect—sometimes just the occasional sentence, sometimes whole passages. Still, as long as one is able to embrace not being able to grasp every nuance of every statement this doesn't need to be a problem. Sometimes one can understand the gist of things. Sometimes one is utterly befuddled. But this sort of befuddlement has a value all its own. It puts one on the outside looking in, which can be quite a healthy vantage point for a reader. The reader is not the center of the universe. Sometimes characters aren't there simply to be unfolded before readers. And the dialect is just plain beautiful. And gems in a vacant lot.
If you like queer fiction, if you like books that are adventurous in terms of style and structure, you're in for a huge treat with Necessary Fiction. Keep an eye out for it (release date 7/22/25), grab a copy as soon as you can, then read it slowly and let yourself experience embracing what you may not completely understand.
I received an electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
Want to Read
June 21, 2025I just received an ARC of Necessary Fiction in the mail! I’m excited to start it 🥰 happy pride!! 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Read
June 22, 2025Vagabonds! was one of the best queer novels of 2022 for me, and I was excited to read this new Osunde novel. Similar to Vagabonds! in both structure and content, Necessary Fiction introduces a large set of characters who are queer in the broadest sense of the word. This is its bane and boon, as it requires intense attention. On the other hand, it is also a necessary move to construct a particular ontopolitics of multiplicity that enables queer forms of life to thrive. In addition to the multitude of characters, the text itself has a particular Osunde vibrancy (as in Vagabonds!). I would even call it queer vitalism, which grants the characters life in naturecultures that are not always benevolent and are often constrictive. This is not always enjoyable, especially since Osunde works to create depth for the characters, which often lost me, but in those depths lies queer vitality that resists all attempts to diminish it.
August 1, 2025
This book gives a really honest and personal look at queer found family life in Lagos, Nigeria while diving into what it means to live your truth in a world that often tries to erase you. The story doesn’t follow a typical plot but instead jumps between different characters, kind of like snapshots of their lives and struggles with things like parental shame and chosen family.
I will say the stories didn't always connect in a way that felt like one solid novel. It’s more like a collection of linked stories. It reminded me a bit of Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi, but with a lighter, more hopeful vibe.
Fair warning, the book spells out its title pretty early on, which might throw some people off. Overall, it’s a messy but interesting read that I think will really speak to people, even if it doesn’t quite fit the usual novel mold.
I will say the stories didn't always connect in a way that felt like one solid novel. It’s more like a collection of linked stories. It reminded me a bit of Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi, but with a lighter, more hopeful vibe.
Fair warning, the book spells out its title pretty early on, which might throw some people off. Overall, it’s a messy but interesting read that I think will really speak to people, even if it doesn’t quite fit the usual novel mold.
August 25, 2025
Another reviewer said they found the book very "tender" and I can see why. We follow a group of friends in the LGBT community in Lagos, their relationships, their struggles, their friendships... Each part of the book focuses on one character (and there are many of them: over a dozen!), and is like a mini-character study. I liked the minutiae of it, the details, the back and forth between characters, the falling outs and the reconciliations. It was a beautiful book, quite slow paced and without too much of a plot at times, beautifully written and with an interesting format.
Free ARC sent by Netgalley.
Free ARC sent by Netgalley.
July 29, 2025
29/07/2025
I know I will review my rating after I’ve fully digested the book
I have read both Vagabonds! and now, necessary fiction and my queen is very talented
I enjoyed this more than vagabonds!
Between us girls, I cannot tell you what that book was about but it was fun.
I think it is extremely important to have literature that shows queer normative relationships. In the lives of the friends and the older characters
Often times, in African literature specifically, the queer characters always have some sort of shame or terrible trauma befall them because of their sexuality.
While this is a reality for the queer community, it is also very important that queer joy and everydayness is also shown.
I enjoyed how the friends had their own community. Once again proving that friendship will indeed save your life!
I also love Eloghosa’s, as the girls say it, command of language. Like I would click my fingers when one of the narrators drop a bar 🤏🏿🤏🏿🤏🏿🤏🏿
I lowkey wish I read with my eyes so I could highlight but I plan on rereading sometime in the future. I decided on the audiobook because it had multiple narrators so my expectations were high. Shout out to her for also giving us narrators that were Nigerian and read the book authentically. It was very Nigerian(complementary)
I also love the fact that in fiction, there is always an element of history. While the Nigerian government tried to sweep the tragedy that occurred in 2020 at the toll gate during end sars, a number of authors have included it in their work of fiction and have immortalised the incident. We will never forget
Now unto my issues. They are very small however they bothered me very deeply hence my rating at the moment
EYE was under the impression that different narrators will narrate their respective characters. This was not the case and that made me confused? Like we would be, for example talking about Maro and one narrator is reading his part, next thing another narrator picks up from where the former left off??? I don’t get why it was done like that. It would take time for me to adjust again.
Secondly, I lost momentum towards the end because I was sort of over the quote unquote therapy speak. Maybe I’m just not healed enough for that
I know I will review my rating after I’ve fully digested the book
I have read both Vagabonds! and now, necessary fiction and my queen is very talented
I enjoyed this more than vagabonds!
Between us girls, I cannot tell you what that book was about but it was fun.
I think it is extremely important to have literature that shows queer normative relationships. In the lives of the friends and the older characters
Often times, in African literature specifically, the queer characters always have some sort of shame or terrible trauma befall them because of their sexuality.
While this is a reality for the queer community, it is also very important that queer joy and everydayness is also shown.
I enjoyed how the friends had their own community. Once again proving that friendship will indeed save your life!
I also love Eloghosa’s, as the girls say it, command of language. Like I would click my fingers when one of the narrators drop a bar 🤏🏿🤏🏿🤏🏿🤏🏿
I lowkey wish I read with my eyes so I could highlight but I plan on rereading sometime in the future. I decided on the audiobook because it had multiple narrators so my expectations were high. Shout out to her for also giving us narrators that were Nigerian and read the book authentically. It was very Nigerian(complementary)
I also love the fact that in fiction, there is always an element of history. While the Nigerian government tried to sweep the tragedy that occurred in 2020 at the toll gate during end sars, a number of authors have included it in their work of fiction and have immortalised the incident. We will never forget
Now unto my issues. They are very small however they bothered me very deeply hence my rating at the moment
EYE was under the impression that different narrators will narrate their respective characters. This was not the case and that made me confused? Like we would be, for example talking about Maro and one narrator is reading his part, next thing another narrator picks up from where the former left off??? I don’t get why it was done like that. It would take time for me to adjust again.
Secondly, I lost momentum towards the end because I was sort of over the quote unquote therapy speak. Maybe I’m just not healed enough for that
July 26, 2025
I really loved Vagabonds, to the point where I immediately got this only knowing the author and title. Like the author's first book, it isn't one you can read casually. You have to pay attention, listen closely, but that's a terrific thing. I'm very glad I bought Vagabonds back when it first came out... it'll make it easy and affordable to make sure I have all her books on my shelf as she keeps writing.
October 30, 2026
OMG y'all! We have a new contender for worst book summary ever written! Thank you, publisher, for telling me nearly nothing about this book, and instead simply stringing together an effusion of empty keywords! Well done, well done. 👏👏👏
Recommended review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Recommended review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
April 20, 2026
incredible. my only complaint was keeping track of characters. 4.5
November 5, 2025
FOR YOU, WHO CHOSE LIFE!!!! I didn’t know it was possible to string words together that way. WHAT THE FFFFFFF. This book redefined love and family for me. It forced so many things to the surface. One of my favorite books I’ve ever read in my life. The music! The dancing! The art! The companionship! The author talks about love as a kind of mercy, and I think this book showed me mercy at a time in my life I needed it terribly. I’m so grateful.
July 18, 2025
Thanks to publisher for advance reading copy
I’ve read this before. Does that mean this novel touches on something universal? Or does it mean it’s been done and said enough times already? If the latter, what does that imply about the title of this one?
Stories inspired by poetry: The thin strings and webs that connected the narratives dodged me a little bit—it’s really just a kaleidoscopic look at queer life in Nigeria via a large cast of characters in and out of each others’ lives. This book could have been marketed as a short story collection and I’d have never once questioned it.
I did appreciate the use of Pidgin mixed in the dialogue throughout. It made each of the characters come to life. It’s just that this novel doesn’t have the usual big narrative backdrop in and around them to contrast with, making the characters’ hard-won fullness of voice and emotion just sort of echo in an empty room. There’s probably an obscure metaphor we could pull from that if we needed to.
In conclusion, it’s hard to draw a solid line on whether this was good or not—it’s got a lot going on. Forgive this extended comparison, but this novel felt like a constellation someone points out “oh that’s a (whatever animal)” and I look and look and can’t really see it and then when they draw it out on a map of the sky for me it’s just some lines connecting in sort of uninteresting ways. To me, it takes a big stretch of the imagination to make those dots come together into one big bizarre complex organism like a turtle or a bear… or here a novel.
Also, for those who it annoys (you know who you are) prepare for this novel to pretty much literally explain its title out loud very early on in a way that totally takes you out of the reading if you’re not ready for that kinda thing.
I’ve read this before. Does that mean this novel touches on something universal? Or does it mean it’s been done and said enough times already? If the latter, what does that imply about the title of this one?
Stories inspired by poetry: The thin strings and webs that connected the narratives dodged me a little bit—it’s really just a kaleidoscopic look at queer life in Nigeria via a large cast of characters in and out of each others’ lives. This book could have been marketed as a short story collection and I’d have never once questioned it.
I did appreciate the use of Pidgin mixed in the dialogue throughout. It made each of the characters come to life. It’s just that this novel doesn’t have the usual big narrative backdrop in and around them to contrast with, making the characters’ hard-won fullness of voice and emotion just sort of echo in an empty room. There’s probably an obscure metaphor we could pull from that if we needed to.
In conclusion, it’s hard to draw a solid line on whether this was good or not—it’s got a lot going on. Forgive this extended comparison, but this novel felt like a constellation someone points out “oh that’s a (whatever animal)” and I look and look and can’t really see it and then when they draw it out on a map of the sky for me it’s just some lines connecting in sort of uninteresting ways. To me, it takes a big stretch of the imagination to make those dots come together into one big bizarre complex organism like a turtle or a bear… or here a novel.
Also, for those who it annoys (you know who you are) prepare for this novel to pretty much literally explain its title out loud very early on in a way that totally takes you out of the reading if you’re not ready for that kinda thing.
January 13, 2026
A beautiful group of friends who’ve found family in each other. So inspiring!
June 26, 2026
I don’t think I always followed the connections but the writing is so beautiful
January 31, 2026
this was one of, perhaps the most, beautiful and meaningful books i’ve ever read. i am so deeply grateful for its existence.
November 20, 2025
No one writes queerness like Eloghosa Osunde, maybe just Akwaeke Emezi. Anyway, another cast of characters I will miss and lots of bittersweet feelings.
May 30, 2026
This book radiates emotional/social intelligence
June 30, 2025
Wow, this was such a wonderful read. I've never read anything like it and yet gave me the same feelings some of my favorite books have given me. This book is Black joy, queer love, art, friendship and found family. I really enjoyed its multi-generational layers and you gradually see the connections between the portraits of each character.
This book will be huge, I can feel it!
This book will be huge, I can feel it!
July 23, 2025
We tell ourselves the necessary fictions that help us survive, our body contorting under the pills and potions ingested to cope. The intoxication strokes our biological clock reassuringly. Our obligations to society and legacy fade to black. A reprieve. The freedom we seek seems to only come to us in our dreams, while high. We wake up and tell a lie, a forced mantra to plant our feet in the direction of the hustle. We must survive. To catch one slipping is a weakness.
ELOGHOSA OSUNDE’s writing is the prize, and NECESSARY FICTION is a truth I want yelled in every room.
I was in awe of the choices Osunde had to make for the structure of this novel. I closed, feeling as if a film was lifted from my eyes. I could touch Maro, Ziz, Tega, Aunty G, Awele, Yemisi. They felt corporeal, a queer life bustling in a city…home where living authentically out of the closet is not possible.
Lagos from the mouths/eyes of this Truth Circle was UNMATCHED to read. “Everyone knows that city is a beast. Lagos is not free” (215). Fire. These characters were sexy, funny, vulnerable, dangerous, cunning, flirty, creative, etc. Just straight GOATs I wouldn’t hesitate to befriend in some muggy club or art gallery.
“None of us really know how we found each other, children of parents who forget to have mercy” (159).
Osunde’s writing is the yearning to be our full selves, to not hide in the face of rejection. NECESSARY FICTION is the lifelong grief felt when you choose you, a found family, a community that feels like a second skin. This novel is the piano intro to bomb amapiano song, a shiny black latex dress, free-form locs shaking in the sun, new beginnings cresting before a rollercoaster drop, a freedom outside of home and self, a definitive choosing to preserve self then play savior to abusive parents.
thank you @riverheadbooks for gifting me this opportunity to read in advance (#ARC). I am blessed to have experienced a read so hypnotic during a period where I’m craving to be swept away. NECESSARY FICTION published yesterday (07/22) so don’t play and cop like now now.
“Good boy” 🤏🏾
ELOGHOSA OSUNDE’s writing is the prize, and NECESSARY FICTION is a truth I want yelled in every room.
I was in awe of the choices Osunde had to make for the structure of this novel. I closed, feeling as if a film was lifted from my eyes. I could touch Maro, Ziz, Tega, Aunty G, Awele, Yemisi. They felt corporeal, a queer life bustling in a city…home where living authentically out of the closet is not possible.
Lagos from the mouths/eyes of this Truth Circle was UNMATCHED to read. “Everyone knows that city is a beast. Lagos is not free” (215). Fire. These characters were sexy, funny, vulnerable, dangerous, cunning, flirty, creative, etc. Just straight GOATs I wouldn’t hesitate to befriend in some muggy club or art gallery.
“None of us really know how we found each other, children of parents who forget to have mercy” (159).
Osunde’s writing is the yearning to be our full selves, to not hide in the face of rejection. NECESSARY FICTION is the lifelong grief felt when you choose you, a found family, a community that feels like a second skin. This novel is the piano intro to bomb amapiano song, a shiny black latex dress, free-form locs shaking in the sun, new beginnings cresting before a rollercoaster drop, a freedom outside of home and self, a definitive choosing to preserve self then play savior to abusive parents.
thank you @riverheadbooks for gifting me this opportunity to read in advance (#ARC). I am blessed to have experienced a read so hypnotic during a period where I’m craving to be swept away. NECESSARY FICTION published yesterday (07/22) so don’t play and cop like now now.
“Good boy” 🤏🏾
May 10, 2026
Eloghosa Osunde is bloody brilliant.
RTC.
Edit:
I am convinced that Eloghosa writes with a knife. In that she strings words into sentences that are so sharp they might pierce your eyes as you read.
A friend on Goodreads once told me he felt he could taste Lagos when he read Vagabonds! , I agreed then but having read Necessary Fiction, I agree even more. I did not only feel like I could taste Lagos, I felt on my tongue, the grief that each character carried but also the love and especially the tenderness with which they held each other and themselves.
It is not an easy thing to be considered an “other” in this world. There are consequences for not being what everyone considers normal or acceptable. In Necessary Fiction, the “others” found each other and created a found family. They tell each other and themselves stories; necessary stories that help them get through a life that does not always make them feel alive.
My favorite way to describe people who love me is: the ones who require no translation of my silences. Eloghosa is masterful at creating worlds and homes for people/characters who are in dire need of other people who can understand the things they cannot say.
I will read anything she writes.
RTC.
Edit:
I am convinced that Eloghosa writes with a knife. In that she strings words into sentences that are so sharp they might pierce your eyes as you read.
A friend on Goodreads once told me he felt he could taste Lagos when he read Vagabonds! , I agreed then but having read Necessary Fiction, I agree even more. I did not only feel like I could taste Lagos, I felt on my tongue, the grief that each character carried but also the love and especially the tenderness with which they held each other and themselves.
It is not an easy thing to be considered an “other” in this world. There are consequences for not being what everyone considers normal or acceptable. In Necessary Fiction, the “others” found each other and created a found family. They tell each other and themselves stories; necessary stories that help them get through a life that does not always make them feel alive.
My favorite way to describe people who love me is: the ones who require no translation of my silences. Eloghosa is masterful at creating worlds and homes for people/characters who are in dire need of other people who can understand the things they cannot say.
I will read anything she writes.
April 27, 2026
Maybe I, too, could find love like the kind that was articulated in this book. #feelingveryhopeful #andqueer
February 9, 2026
Loved how queer this book is and also the author’s just has such a beautiful writing style. My main gripe with the book though was just that it felt a bit too all over the place for me; there were too many characters that I didn’t all totally care for. Certain sections of the book could have been cut out without damaging the integrity of the book’s project. Also, because there were too many characters some of them just didn’t feel fleshed out totally. And personally for me it was frustrating at times when I felt myself building a connection with a character or plot line only to have it interrupted by a character I care little about, and who has little connection to the plot. I wish the author did more to establish how this friend group came together as well, just so I could feel a bit more connected to these people.
But still, beautiful book. I think some more editing and page cutting would have only enhanced its intentions
But still, beautiful book. I think some more editing and page cutting would have only enhanced its intentions
September 17, 2026
Vagabonds! was one of my favorite books last year, so much so that I reread it last month and fell in love all over again. It promised a fantastic career, and when I saw that Osunde had another novel coming out, I bought it immediately, psyched to dive in. Surely, this was going to be another Vajra Chandrasekera or Susanna Clarke moment where everything they write is solid gold. Instead, it was another Isabel Allende or Rivers Solomon moment where the magic only lasted for one book and I was left shocked, disappointed, and bitter at having spent money for a hardcover copy.
It's not all bad. The prose is still pretty, the characters still fascinating, and individual moments still heart-rending. "Good Boy," "Burnt Files," and much of "She/Her They/Them" made me feel things. The seeds for a phenomenal book are here! But they rarely germinate.
First: this book is a structural mess. Sometimes, a character is the focus for a section; other times, they appear in a single chapter and only reappear in the last one (or, in a few cases, never again). I could tell this started from three standalone short stories later woven together, but that could have worked. Vagabonds! has a similar vibe, after all! But that book kept characters mostly confined to a chapter or two before the climax. Here, I don't get why Ziz has some three-odd chapters to himself while Psalm and Asang only get the one (and their chapter is the weakest by far). The focus is too meandering to be a novel, but everything is still too connected (however threadbare) to be a short story collection. It's the worst of both worlds.
Hell, I'm not even sure who the main character is. I didn't have this issue with their debut, because the main character is, in fact, the vagabonds of Lagos! The interstitials from the all-seeing Tatafo paint the picture of a protagonist with many voices. There's no Tatafo figure here, and two characters get first person pronouns while everyone else is stuck with third or occasionally second. When this narrator adds flourishes like "I mean," it makes me think not of an omniscient narrator, but of Ziz airing his friends' dirty laundry to me; I hope that wasn't the intention, because it makes him into a shittier friend than what he's supposed to be.
Speaking of pronouns: why do they keep changing? Ziz's first chapter is first person, but his second one is third. "She/Her They/Them" switches between third and second, and I'm not sure how well it works. Second person is very high risk high reward, and it almost paid off, but its confinement to this part weakened it.
Now, these issues aren't automatically a deal breaker; Rakesfall, one of my favorite books, follows a similar structural anarchy. However, there it works because the core plot is two people finding each other over and over again across time and space; the different POVs, the shifting framing devices, and the revolving cast of characters all complement the story. Here, I'm not sure what this constant shifting does to the core plot of "rich gay art school friends caring for each other" other than overcomplicate.
Second: this book is all tell and no show—and in doing so, it's all payoff and no set-up. Because of the above structural issues, certain elements that should have really hit home completely miss the mark. Lots of attention is given to the found family and how much they love and support and care for each other, but little is given to the foundation of that family. Characters will tell you or each other about their tragic pasts and personal hang-ups and wants and fears, but rarely do we actually see them reacting to all that ("She/Her They/Them" is the exception for actually showing us Awele and Yemisi's damage in a poignant and heartbreaking way). The narration tells you that May struggles with alcoholism and she later tells a character we just met and who never reappears that she wants to get sober, but we the reader see neither her drinking nor her struggle to get clean. Awele tells us she struggles with bulimia and trichotillomania, but do we ever see her once binge or purge or pick her hair?
Everything is also thick with therapy speak. In "Truth Circle," I thought this style of speaking would be restricted to these therapy sessions—and then we never see anyone truth circle again even as the therapy speak continues. Every deep revelation from someone is answered with robotic sentences like "thank you for sharing that," and every character has a perfect grip on their emotional damage and never once talks around their true thoughts. Romantic soulmates interact in the same way as new acquaintances or estranged friends. Instead of creating emotions through emotional scenes and interactions, we're told about emotional moments and are reassured that This Means Something, and I feel both robbed of catharsis and twenty-eight dollars.
To best demonstrate this, let's break apart the final chapter. Maro and Jekwu, who have been totally absent for over a hundred pages and whose relationship was only developed over the course of a few pages, have a commitment ceremony. The vows are too long and don't really resonate with what little we've seen of them. The performance from Akin is only known because other characters tell him in detail how each song made them feel even though we never saw him perform these songs. The gift list made me roll my eyes because I don't understand what a Garfield onesie or air fryer mean to these two. The set list—and really, all the songs mentioned here—frustrated me with the sheer amount of titles more proving how much music Osunde knows rather than what they all add to the book. Reading this book is like orgasming without sex; I got so little of Maro and Jekwu that their extensive epilogue meant nothing and made me miss not having the journey.
Not all books can be a hit, and it's my hope that Osunde's third book will be a return to form. I still believe that Vagabonds! is genuinely well-crafted and inventive, and you should go check it out if you haven't already. You can sit this one out, though.
It's not all bad. The prose is still pretty, the characters still fascinating, and individual moments still heart-rending. "Good Boy," "Burnt Files," and much of "She/Her They/Them" made me feel things. The seeds for a phenomenal book are here! But they rarely germinate.
First: this book is a structural mess. Sometimes, a character is the focus for a section; other times, they appear in a single chapter and only reappear in the last one (or, in a few cases, never again). I could tell this started from three standalone short stories later woven together, but that could have worked. Vagabonds! has a similar vibe, after all! But that book kept characters mostly confined to a chapter or two before the climax. Here, I don't get why Ziz has some three-odd chapters to himself while Psalm and Asang only get the one (and their chapter is the weakest by far). The focus is too meandering to be a novel, but everything is still too connected (however threadbare) to be a short story collection. It's the worst of both worlds.
Hell, I'm not even sure who the main character is. I didn't have this issue with their debut, because the main character is, in fact, the vagabonds of Lagos! The interstitials from the all-seeing Tatafo paint the picture of a protagonist with many voices. There's no Tatafo figure here, and two characters get first person pronouns while everyone else is stuck with third or occasionally second. When this narrator adds flourishes like "I mean," it makes me think not of an omniscient narrator, but of Ziz airing his friends' dirty laundry to me; I hope that wasn't the intention, because it makes him into a shittier friend than what he's supposed to be.
Speaking of pronouns: why do they keep changing? Ziz's first chapter is first person, but his second one is third. "She/Her They/Them" switches between third and second, and I'm not sure how well it works. Second person is very high risk high reward, and it almost paid off, but its confinement to this part weakened it.
Now, these issues aren't automatically a deal breaker; Rakesfall, one of my favorite books, follows a similar structural anarchy. However, there it works because the core plot is two people finding each other over and over again across time and space; the different POVs, the shifting framing devices, and the revolving cast of characters all complement the story. Here, I'm not sure what this constant shifting does to the core plot of "rich gay art school friends caring for each other" other than overcomplicate.
Second: this book is all tell and no show—and in doing so, it's all payoff and no set-up. Because of the above structural issues, certain elements that should have really hit home completely miss the mark. Lots of attention is given to the found family and how much they love and support and care for each other, but little is given to the foundation of that family. Characters will tell you or each other about their tragic pasts and personal hang-ups and wants and fears, but rarely do we actually see them reacting to all that ("She/Her They/Them" is the exception for actually showing us Awele and Yemisi's damage in a poignant and heartbreaking way). The narration tells you that May struggles with alcoholism and she later tells a character we just met and who never reappears that she wants to get sober, but we the reader see neither her drinking nor her struggle to get clean. Awele tells us she struggles with bulimia and trichotillomania, but do we ever see her once binge or purge or pick her hair?
Everything is also thick with therapy speak. In "Truth Circle," I thought this style of speaking would be restricted to these therapy sessions—and then we never see anyone truth circle again even as the therapy speak continues. Every deep revelation from someone is answered with robotic sentences like "thank you for sharing that," and every character has a perfect grip on their emotional damage and never once talks around their true thoughts. Romantic soulmates interact in the same way as new acquaintances or estranged friends. Instead of creating emotions through emotional scenes and interactions, we're told about emotional moments and are reassured that This Means Something, and I feel both robbed of catharsis and twenty-eight dollars.
To best demonstrate this, let's break apart the final chapter. Maro and Jekwu, who have been totally absent for over a hundred pages and whose relationship was only developed over the course of a few pages, have a commitment ceremony. The vows are too long and don't really resonate with what little we've seen of them. The performance from Akin is only known because other characters tell him in detail how each song made them feel even though we never saw him perform these songs. The gift list made me roll my eyes because I don't understand what a Garfield onesie or air fryer mean to these two. The set list—and really, all the songs mentioned here—frustrated me with the sheer amount of titles more proving how much music Osunde knows rather than what they all add to the book. Reading this book is like orgasming without sex; I got so little of Maro and Jekwu that their extensive epilogue meant nothing and made me miss not having the journey.
Not all books can be a hit, and it's my hope that Osunde's third book will be a return to form. I still believe that Vagabonds! is genuinely well-crafted and inventive, and you should go check it out if you haven't already. You can sit this one out, though.
July 21, 2025
Thank you to 4th Estate for a proof copy of this book.
Firstly, I need to warn you that this book will have you in your feelings!! Don't pick this one up if you're looking for a light, fluffy read. But please do pick it up at some point!!
With quite a large cast of characters, this novel examines the lives of queer folks in contemporary Nigeria. Thankfully, you're able to remind yourself of who's who with a helpful list!
Eloghosa Osunde's Necessary Fiction is a visceral meditation on queerness, liberation, and the quiet (and loud) rebellions we carry in our bodies. Blending essay, autofiction, memoir, and metaphysical musings, this isn't just a read—it’s an experience.
Layers of identity and imagination, centering queer African lives are tenderly peeled back with a radical honesty. The language is lush and lyrical. It is dense in places, but deliberately so— you need to slow down, to sit with discomfort, to question what stories we’re allowed to tell, and who gets to tell them.
While not an “easy” read (and that’s part of its power), it's so rewarding. Annotators, get your tabs at the ready because there were so many gems and moments that gave way to pause for thought. At times poetic, other times raw, the writing kept delivering a steady flow of emotion, resistance, and deep-rooted truth.
A necessary, beautifully unique offering at insists on the possibility of freedom—through language, through fiction, through fierce self-definition.
Firstly, I need to warn you that this book will have you in your feelings!! Don't pick this one up if you're looking for a light, fluffy read. But please do pick it up at some point!!
With quite a large cast of characters, this novel examines the lives of queer folks in contemporary Nigeria. Thankfully, you're able to remind yourself of who's who with a helpful list!
Eloghosa Osunde's Necessary Fiction is a visceral meditation on queerness, liberation, and the quiet (and loud) rebellions we carry in our bodies. Blending essay, autofiction, memoir, and metaphysical musings, this isn't just a read—it’s an experience.
Layers of identity and imagination, centering queer African lives are tenderly peeled back with a radical honesty. The language is lush and lyrical. It is dense in places, but deliberately so— you need to slow down, to sit with discomfort, to question what stories we’re allowed to tell, and who gets to tell them.
While not an “easy” read (and that’s part of its power), it's so rewarding. Annotators, get your tabs at the ready because there were so many gems and moments that gave way to pause for thought. At times poetic, other times raw, the writing kept delivering a steady flow of emotion, resistance, and deep-rooted truth.
A necessary, beautifully unique offering at insists on the possibility of freedom—through language, through fiction, through fierce self-definition.
July 24, 2025
These characters, this writing, putting these stories on these pages, really took my breath away. Stunning!
Read
March 7, 2026Interesting ideas and insightful descriptions but also too many characters and switching perspectives. Every time I learned to relate to one character the novel would switch to another. Lacked a feeling of propulsion; never gripped me.
October 16, 2025
5+ stars. Audio Gold!
March 9, 2026
I went into this book blind and I am so glad I did. This book was so beautifully written. I fell in love with the characters, and connected them in such profound ways. The parent-child relationship dynamics struck me to my core. Needless to say, I felt seen in different parts of this book. Great book!
July 22, 2025
Thank you Riverhead books for mailing me an ARC of this book!!
FIVE STARS! I've read a lot of books this year and not one of them can compare to this novel. This story takes place in Nigeria, mainly in Lagos. The main theme is found family and we see how a lot of these characters are not accepted by their blood family. The relationships they form with each other is beautiful. The PROSE is top tier. There are a ton of characters in this book and the pacing of these stories is quick. So many characters stand out to me. I loved this book and can't wait to recommend it.
FIVE STARS! I've read a lot of books this year and not one of them can compare to this novel. This story takes place in Nigeria, mainly in Lagos. The main theme is found family and we see how a lot of these characters are not accepted by their blood family. The relationships they form with each other is beautiful. The PROSE is top tier. There are a ton of characters in this book and the pacing of these stories is quick. So many characters stand out to me. I loved this book and can't wait to recommend it.
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