The Brevity of Beautiful Things

by Nnamdi Ehirim

Across ten interconnected stories, six former schoolmates navigate adulthood, haunted by the ghosts of their shared past. Set against the backdrop of contemporary Lagos and boarding school life in Ogun state, The Brevity of Beautiful Things weaves through time, revealing the unexpected consequences of childhood trauma.

Kamara wrestles with the shadow of his demanding father. Julius is lumbered with an imaginable burden after his father’s stroke, Iman escapes her family’s suffocating religious ties. Ufedo treads a precarious path in her pursuit of pleasure. Murtala harbours a secret he’s neverfully shared about his sex life. Faramade lives a life that he knows should be better.

As their paths cross again in adulthood, each character grapples with the fleeting nature of happiness, the weight of unrequited love, and the strain of loyalty. The Brevity of Beautiful Things is a poignant exploration of memory, perspective, and the fragile threads that connect us to our past and each other.

Genres: Fiction, African Literature

152 pages, Paperback

Published November 18, 2024

Reviews

[Bukola Akinyemi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Brevity of Beautiful Things
By Nnamdi Ehirim

“We, humans are like books. Many will come along, run their fingers across our covers . Some will skim through the parts they fancy before abandoning us. Only a few will cherish us and keep returning to us.”

I loved my reading experience of this book. I could tell that a book lover wrote it. There were so many references to books and when I saw Sarah Ladipo Manyika’s In Dependence mentioned, I immediately knew that Nnamdi Ehirim has good taste in books. Book lovers make the best authors in my opinion.

The Brevity of Beautiful Things is a collection of interconnected short stories about six former schoolmates navigating adulthood, haunted by the ghosts of their shared pasts. Set against the backdrop of contemporary Lagos and boarding school life in Ogun state.

It covers themes of love, sexuality, childhood trauma, friendship, family, societal expectations, manhood, amongst others.

A couple of quotes I loved.

“Being a man meant becoming used to enacting the role of protagonist in my own abuse.”

“You never have to say much when your money talks. Money can be angry for you, it can be funny for you, it can be intelligent for you.”

“The paradox of loving is that we learn to love perfectly form the people that are imperfect for us.”

[Uche Ezeudu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful collection of short stories that uses the lives of six friends/classmates to mirror issues that are so common amongst humans in the society. The fact that all six characters are flawed and morally grey further emphasizes the idea that no human is perfect.
Their stories border on sexuality, self-discovery, childhood trauma, human conviction, polyamory, self-awareness.
It is a book that would have you thinking and rethinking and I especially love the shocking effect each short story has. It’s so shocking that I found myself reading and rereading lines that I’d read and reread because it was just so unfathomable.
A unique quality about this collection is how the short stories are all linked to one another so a story might end in a particular chapter but it continues in a whole different chapter. This is a wonderful book and I want you to read it 🙂‍↔️

[WhiteNigerianGirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I could describe this book in four words, they’d be: Beautiful. Nostalgic. Messy. Chaotic. If a sitcom were made, trust that I would definitely watch it!

✨I’m usually not a fan of short stories, but this one? It’s different. The stories are all interconnected. It follows the lives of friends from secondary school (boarding school). And while I genuinely enjoyed reading it, I think it’s the book you should finish in one sitting. If not, the characters might begin to blur.

That’s the mistake I made. I read it across three days—one part today, another the next, and wrapped it up on the third. Because of that, I forgot and mixed up the stories of some characters, like Murtala and Julius. Even the name of the artist at the beginning slipped my mind. But for Ufedo, Kamara, and Ima, I made a special space in my heart to keep them safe and carry their stories with me forever.

⏳The author’s writing style is poetic. The book didn't have a lot of dialogue but almost every sentence had a feeling attached to it. You can already tell I totally enjoyed reading this book.

#thebrevityofbeautifulthings explores real-life issues like friendship, the silence of our mothers, identity, sexuality, peer pressure, shame, and the quiet tension that comes with adolescence. And the title, The Brevity of Beautiful Things, felt even more meaningful after I looked up what “brevity” meant. If I could pick a character from the book to have a standalone novel, it would be Kamara. Or Ufedo. Or Ima. Or maybe everyone 🌚.

[Ify]

The title should have prepared me for the direction this book would take. Alas, I was not prepared. An interconnected short story collection exploring the lives and choices of a group of boarding school friends who are well into adulthood. Themes of death, internalized homophobia, unrequited love, frayed family relationships, addiction, fading friendships etc. It's a slight but weighty collection.

[Emmanuel Oset · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is more sexual imagery than I would be comfortable with in a book, but it's a very innovative exploration of friendships and relationships and a thought-provoking read.

[Readwithmmesoma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only reason I didn't scream while reading this book as I read it in public was that I didn't want people to think I was losing my mind or going through something serious. But with every twist in this book, I kept asking myself, "Is everyone okay?"
The book is structured into ten interconnected stories about six former classmates, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
There's Ufedo who takes risks in her search for pleasure, Kamara struggles with the pressure of his strict father and his love life, Julius carries a heavy responsibility burden after his father's stroke, Iman struggled with childhood trauma and strict religious rules, Murtala hides the secret about his sexuality & Faramade who feels his life should be better than it is and believes luck is not on his side.
One of my favorite things was the unique and captivating chapter titles. The stories explore themes of sexuality, self-discovery, childhood trauma, human conviction, polyamory, cheating (omg) and self-awareness.
A standout lesson for me was the realization that even our personal decisions don't just affect us individually-at the end of the day, our choices have consequences for others as well.
While I found every character in this book somewhat flawed (and a little mad, if I'm being honest), I particularly liked Iman. She seemed like the only one who truly knew what she wanted, and that clarity made her stand out for me.
This is one book l'd recommend just to hear people's thoughts and opinions.

[Haddy • haddyreadshere · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found it beautiful to see how deeply flawed the characters were as they struggled to find their footing, identity, and purpose in life. They faced failures but kept trying and never gave up. However, one aspect I did not appreciate was the portrayal of sex. It seemed to lack any reverence and was treated as casually as water. The characters did not hold it as sacred or special; instead, they indulged in it without thought.

In the group, at least three characters had slept with one another, including same-sex encounters. As a Christian, I do not agree with the idea of casual sex or same-sex relationships, so the emphasis on this theme in the book was a bit much for my sensibilities. I would have preferred a different bond connecting the characters.

[Mayo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful writing style. I'm not much a fan of short stories but this was written with each story connected. The whole plot centres around a couple of friends from boarding school showing us a little bit of their lives as adults. It's how each character moves on a different path to adulthood from their childhood and teenage years. This is definitely a good one if you're looking for something exciting and different.

[Isu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a novel in the typical sense but surely more novel than anthology. I really enjoyed the handoff between each character- each story.

This book was also quite easy to get lost in. It’s the kind of book you start on a random afternoon and hold onto till the evening when you finish it. It pulls you in easily and the switches between characters never feels to difficult to follow.

It achieves its intention very well.

[Ibukun · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved reading this book. Especially its very realistic portrayal of friendship. At some point I started to worry for the characters tbh. But again, like the title says, it’s truly the brevity of beautiful things and even their flaws and cracks had beauty in it.

Overall very fantastic book. I sped through it.

Also, no concerns on the sex and sexuality pls. Everyone is sleeping with themselves in Lagos ✋🏾

[Bookmaniac_60 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories were short and I also liked how each story interconnected, and the switch between the timelines were easy to follow. But it wasn't what I expected and struggled to read through,so I'm rating based on my mood

[Shammah Godoz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nnamdi's writing has music and it is a music that is him. I like how he walkes through the lives of his characters carefully an dlinks the stories to one another. I feel like people do not read about thi sbook and talk about it in the way that it looms as large as it should.

[Muhammad Tahir · Rating 4 out of 5]

What are human relationships if not flawed. The brevity of beautiful things looks at events from the perspective of the different characters, provoking thoughts on what love, friendship and romantic relationship means for each of them

[Bo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a fan of short stories but this worked for me because of the interconnectedness of the stories, and the sometimes shocking end of each story. Easy ready too.

[Chibuike Olive · Rating 3 out of 5]

The longer I read, the more I am drawn to a life I had lived or almost lived. The brevity of beautiful things is a revelation of the prowess of Nnamdi Ehirim

[Ay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting read.
However I gave 2 stars because I am not a fan of collection of stories which is what this book is. I was unable to connect with the characters on any level

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it very enjoyable and would definitely recommend it. It’s an interesting take on how our memories of the same moments — and our experiences of each other — are never quite the same.