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The Tiny Things Are Heavier
Bloomsbury presents The Tiny Things Are Heavier by Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo, read by A'rese Emokpae
Named a Best Book of 2025 by Vogue and Harper's Bazaar
"A gracefully told and sharply observed debut." —Kiley Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Such a Fun Age
A heart-rending debut novel about a Nigerian immigrant as she tries to find her place at home and in America—a powerful epic about love, grief, family, and belonging.
The Tiny Things Are Heavier follows Sommy, a Nigerian woman who comes to the United States for graduate school two weeks after her brother, Mezie, attempts suicide. Plagued by the guilt of leaving Mezie behind, Sommy struggles to fit into her new life as a student and an immigrant. Lonely and homesick, Sommy soon enters a complicated relationship with her boisterous Nigerian roommate, Bayo, a relationship that plummets into deceit when Sommy falls for Bryan, a biracial American, whose estranged Nigerian father left the States immediately after his birth. Bonded by their feelings of unbelonging and a vague sense of kinship, Sommy and Bryan transcend the challenges of their new relationship.
During summer break, Sommy and Bryan visit the bustling city of Lagos, Nigeria, where Sommy hopes to reconcile with Mezie and Bryan plans to connect with his father. But when a shocking and unexpected event throws their lives into disarray, it exposes the cracks in Sommy’s relationships and forces her to confront her notions of self and familial love.
A daring and ambitious novel rendered in stirring, tender prose, The Tiny Things Are Heavier is a captivating portrait that explores the hardships of migration, the subtleties of Nigeria’s class system, and how far we’ll go to protect those we love.
Named a Best Book of 2025 by Vogue and Harper's Bazaar
"A gracefully told and sharply observed debut." —Kiley Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Such a Fun Age
A heart-rending debut novel about a Nigerian immigrant as she tries to find her place at home and in America—a powerful epic about love, grief, family, and belonging.
The Tiny Things Are Heavier follows Sommy, a Nigerian woman who comes to the United States for graduate school two weeks after her brother, Mezie, attempts suicide. Plagued by the guilt of leaving Mezie behind, Sommy struggles to fit into her new life as a student and an immigrant. Lonely and homesick, Sommy soon enters a complicated relationship with her boisterous Nigerian roommate, Bayo, a relationship that plummets into deceit when Sommy falls for Bryan, a biracial American, whose estranged Nigerian father left the States immediately after his birth. Bonded by their feelings of unbelonging and a vague sense of kinship, Sommy and Bryan transcend the challenges of their new relationship.
During summer break, Sommy and Bryan visit the bustling city of Lagos, Nigeria, where Sommy hopes to reconcile with Mezie and Bryan plans to connect with his father. But when a shocking and unexpected event throws their lives into disarray, it exposes the cracks in Sommy’s relationships and forces her to confront her notions of self and familial love.
A daring and ambitious novel rendered in stirring, tender prose, The Tiny Things Are Heavier is a captivating portrait that explores the hardships of migration, the subtleties of Nigeria’s class system, and how far we’ll go to protect those we love.
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First published June 24, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
September 26, 2025
Deeply moving, unforgettable, well written, heart-wrenching and beautiful…
Sommy was born in Nigerian, after many years of studying she finally got offered a spot at graduate school in the United States. She decides to accept the offer, but this happens to be two weeks after her brother, Mezie attempted suicide. This is her first time away from how and in the US, while she is battling the guilt of leaving her brother behind, she must also figure out school, and living in the US. She gets a Nigerian roommate, Bayo, he is over the top, and is beyond happy to be in the US because he knows this is his and his family ticket to freedom. Sommy meets a biracial American whose father is Nigerian and she falls for him, but she also has a complicated relationship with Bayo.
After going back and forth, Sommy gets with Bryan and for the first time they visit Nigeria together during a summer break. Sommy to rebuild her relationship with her brother and Bryan to find his father. What happens, during their visit will shatter their lives, leaving them reeling.
The Tiny Things Are Heavier is so beautifully written, with characters who a deeply flawed, nuanced and relatable. While reading this, I was reminded of why I love reading, and it is because of how brilliantly written this book is. I loved the brother-sister relationship, and how that was explored, I feel like we don’t read that dynamic a lot in books. Also, Sommy as a character makes you want to see her win.
This is one of my favourite books for 2025 and I cannot wait for everyone to experience it.
Sommy was born in Nigerian, after many years of studying she finally got offered a spot at graduate school in the United States. She decides to accept the offer, but this happens to be two weeks after her brother, Mezie attempted suicide. This is her first time away from how and in the US, while she is battling the guilt of leaving her brother behind, she must also figure out school, and living in the US. She gets a Nigerian roommate, Bayo, he is over the top, and is beyond happy to be in the US because he knows this is his and his family ticket to freedom. Sommy meets a biracial American whose father is Nigerian and she falls for him, but she also has a complicated relationship with Bayo.
After going back and forth, Sommy gets with Bryan and for the first time they visit Nigeria together during a summer break. Sommy to rebuild her relationship with her brother and Bryan to find his father. What happens, during their visit will shatter their lives, leaving them reeling.
The Tiny Things Are Heavier is so beautifully written, with characters who a deeply flawed, nuanced and relatable. While reading this, I was reminded of why I love reading, and it is because of how brilliantly written this book is. I loved the brother-sister relationship, and how that was explored, I feel like we don’t read that dynamic a lot in books. Also, Sommy as a character makes you want to see her win.
This is one of my favourite books for 2025 and I cannot wait for everyone to experience it.
November 15, 2025
Pensive, Beautiful, Tender, Well Written.
I LOVED this book and i will be thinking about it for a very long time.
The characters were distinct, humanized (even the unlikable ones) and had a mind of their own. This allowed for the exploration of different world views and philosophies. It wasn’t pretentious or preachy in the least bit. Everyone in this book was so human it hurts. 💔
Also the writing was top notch! I wasn’t surprised that Esther is an alumni from the best creative writing school in America (if not in the world)- The Iowa Writers Workshop.
Favorite Quotes:
“The way in which you quit life rewrote the story of your lifee in a negative form. Those who knew you reread each of your acts in the light of your last. Henceforth, the shadow of this tall black tree hides the forest that was your life. When you are spoken of it begins with recounting your death before going back to explain it. Isn’t it peculiar how this final gesture inverts your biography? “
“Who but a storyteller is expert at constructing something from nothing?”
“Home is a place where when you have to go there, they have to take you in.”
I LOVED this book and i will be thinking about it for a very long time.
The characters were distinct, humanized (even the unlikable ones) and had a mind of their own. This allowed for the exploration of different world views and philosophies. It wasn’t pretentious or preachy in the least bit. Everyone in this book was so human it hurts. 💔
Also the writing was top notch! I wasn’t surprised that Esther is an alumni from the best creative writing school in America (if not in the world)- The Iowa Writers Workshop.
Favorite Quotes:
“The way in which you quit life rewrote the story of your lifee in a negative form. Those who knew you reread each of your acts in the light of your last. Henceforth, the shadow of this tall black tree hides the forest that was your life. When you are spoken of it begins with recounting your death before going back to explain it. Isn’t it peculiar how this final gesture inverts your biography? “
“Who but a storyteller is expert at constructing something from nothing?”
“Home is a place where when you have to go there, they have to take you in.”
March 21, 2025
Every now & then, I come across books that leave me feeling deeply conflicted. If you had asked me a ¼ into The Tiny Things Are Heavier, I would have had nothing but praise. I loved its restrained prose, ambiguous atmosphere and characterization, as well as the author’s sharp, often scathing portrayal of academia. It reminded me of campus novels like The Idiot by Elif Batuman and Tell Me I’m an Artist by Chelsea Martin, or even Jamaica Kincaid’s Lucy and American Fever by Dur e Aziz Amna—which follow protagonists attempting to ‘adjust’ to a new country, only to find themselves on the fringes, either due to their own temperament, past traumas, or the microaggressions and indifference of others. Sommy's early experiences in the States brought to mind Kincaid’s Lucy: “Everything I could see looked unreal to me; everything I could see made me feel I would never be part of it, never penetrate to the inside, never be taken in.”
I was particularly intrigued by Sommy’s past and her frayed relationship with her brother, Mezie, who has completely cut her off. His coldness and silence bruise her already lonely heart, and this uneven dynamic had the potential of exploring that specific type of hurt, that of a one-sided longing to be loved or understood by parent or sibling.
And then… I don’t know what happened. The story shifts into a new-adult-style bad romance, full of melodrama and moralizing. The plot becomes a cautionary tale with a predictable conflict that forces the cahracters into a crossroad that reveals/says something about their morals and values. Too much time is spent on Bryan, a character whose erratic behavior makes him feel inconsistent rather than complex. Meanwhile, Sommy—who was initially rendered with such striking nuance—becomes flattened, her desires and anxieties sidelined as she orbits around Bryan. Before, her silence and opaqueness made her intriguing and realistic…but no longer is her character the focus on the story. While this shift was, to some extent, intentional—meant to illustrate how completely consumed she is by him—I found the way it is rendered on the page, sudden and perfunctory. Even the prose itself seems to change, becoming less insightful and introspective.
By the end, the novel lands somewhere in the realm of, if not as bad as CH, then not too far off. Even Sommy’s unhealthy dynamic with her roommate Bayo felt more compelling and realistic than whatever was happening with Bryan. The Lagos arc, which should have been an opportunity for Sommy to interact or be in the proximity of her family and best friend, is disappointingly Bryan-focused. Even Sommy and Mezie’s strained relationship is framed around Bryan and Mezie not getting along.
The novel’s early emotional resonance stemmed from Sommy’s heartbreak over her brother’s indifference, and it would have been far more interesting to have the novel continue focusing on her studies, her time at university, and her forming meaningful or tentative bonds with her new university friends. Instead, they are relegated to the background in favor of yet more Bryan.
Maybe I’m just too much of a lesbian to buy into a character like Bryan, let alone Sommy’s supposedly intense relationship with him. I’m all for flawed relationships but the characters have to be realistic or compelling. Bryan and Sommy were boring, and I could not care about their arguments and miscommunications (which often struck me as forced, stilted even).
If this novel is on your radar, I recommend looking up some more positive reviews. I didn’t hate it, but once Bryan and Sommy became entangled… well, I emotionally checked out.
I was particularly intrigued by Sommy’s past and her frayed relationship with her brother, Mezie, who has completely cut her off. His coldness and silence bruise her already lonely heart, and this uneven dynamic had the potential of exploring that specific type of hurt, that of a one-sided longing to be loved or understood by parent or sibling.
And then… I don’t know what happened. The story shifts into a new-adult-style bad romance, full of melodrama and moralizing. The plot becomes a cautionary tale with a predictable conflict that forces the cahracters into a crossroad that reveals/says something about their morals and values. Too much time is spent on Bryan, a character whose erratic behavior makes him feel inconsistent rather than complex. Meanwhile, Sommy—who was initially rendered with such striking nuance—becomes flattened, her desires and anxieties sidelined as she orbits around Bryan. Before, her silence and opaqueness made her intriguing and realistic…but no longer is her character the focus on the story. While this shift was, to some extent, intentional—meant to illustrate how completely consumed she is by him—I found the way it is rendered on the page, sudden and perfunctory. Even the prose itself seems to change, becoming less insightful and introspective.
By the end, the novel lands somewhere in the realm of, if not as bad as CH, then not too far off. Even Sommy’s unhealthy dynamic with her roommate Bayo felt more compelling and realistic than whatever was happening with Bryan. The Lagos arc, which should have been an opportunity for Sommy to interact or be in the proximity of her family and best friend, is disappointingly Bryan-focused. Even Sommy and Mezie’s strained relationship is framed around Bryan and Mezie not getting along.
The novel’s early emotional resonance stemmed from Sommy’s heartbreak over her brother’s indifference, and it would have been far more interesting to have the novel continue focusing on her studies, her time at university, and her forming meaningful or tentative bonds with her new university friends. Instead, they are relegated to the background in favor of yet more Bryan.
Maybe I’m just too much of a lesbian to buy into a character like Bryan, let alone Sommy’s supposedly intense relationship with him. I’m all for flawed relationships but the characters have to be realistic or compelling. Bryan and Sommy were boring, and I could not care about their arguments and miscommunications (which often struck me as forced, stilted even).
If this novel is on your radar, I recommend looking up some more positive reviews. I didn’t hate it, but once Bryan and Sommy became entangled… well, I emotionally checked out.
August 10, 2025
The Tiny Things are Heavier is broken up in to three parts. The first part takes place in Iowa and focuses on Sommy adjusting to life in an America. In the second part of the book Sommy and Bryan go back to Nigeria to visit family; Bryan is looking for his father, who he has never met. The third part is about Sommy and Bryan’s life after Lagos and after graduate school.
The first part of the book reminds me of Normal People by Sally Rooney. It felt very intimate and very emotional. The story expands in the second part with Sommy recognizing things about her family that she never would have seen had she never left Lagos. She comes back to the United States with a different perspective on her family and herself.
This is an emotionally impactful debut novel. The story takes place over three years but it is a coming of age story for Sommy. She starts out as a child in her family, and becomes an adult in the world, suffering all the consequences go with it. Highly recommend this one.
The first part of the book reminds me of Normal People by Sally Rooney. It felt very intimate and very emotional. The story expands in the second part with Sommy recognizing things about her family that she never would have seen had she never left Lagos. She comes back to the United States with a different perspective on her family and herself.
This is an emotionally impactful debut novel. The story takes place over three years but it is a coming of age story for Sommy. She starts out as a child in her family, and becomes an adult in the world, suffering all the consequences go with it. Highly recommend this one.
July 13, 2025
This book has been on my radar since one of my favorite book influencers @bookofcinz spoke very highly of it.
I am in two minds about this book. The book is very Nigerian in the best possible way. The way Esther describes being an immigrant in a new country and the return to one’s own country, the traditions, the everydayness of Nigerian life? Absolutely incredible!
This is a very authentic book. Words fail me in my description of how close to home the atmosphere felt.
With that being said, I deeply disliked everyone in this book. Time for me to stand on my moral high ground
I understand that Somkele was in her early twenties and I have grace for her in that regard but my goodness she was not a good person. She was also very hypocritical and I hate when a babe is so concerned with romantic love that she can’t think straight.
The weird thing between her Bayo and Bryan…
Bayo is also a vindictive son of a bitch. Bryan the biracial(derogatory). I often felt the way Somkele felt when he was taking pictures and all that. Like I get it but I was also annoyed.
As someone who has been diagnosed with depression, I was very sympathetic towards Mezie but also what a despicable human being. I don’t think mental illness is a reason to be so awful. He was awful to the two women, Chisom and Elin, to Bryan, to that poor man that was mending his pants, to Somkele. I don’t have siblings so I don’t understand that fierce need to protect someone at the detriment of one’s self. Siblings fascinate me (derogatory).
Somkele’s parents?? Her mom? I have no words.
The hit and run, the subsequent way in which it was dealt with was very typical. Nigeria is such a lawless country.
I couldn’t even be mad at Bryan’s little essay but wow also that was intense. They were so awful to one another. I wish they never carried on with the relationship after she had sex with Bayo after she was with Bryan. She felt so privileged to be loved by Bryan that she had no sense of self. She never had a sense of self anyways.
Even Somkele’s friendships were a mess.
With all that being said, I think Esther Ifesinaci Okonkwo did a beautiful job of portraying deeply flawed characters.
I think it ended in the best way it could have. I think this book will be a huge hit! I hope she writes more books because she’s a talented storyteller. Although I read this on kindle via Libby(thank you again to my friend in the US - please protect the libraries), I had listened to a sample of the audiobook and it was by a Nigerian so I was deeply pleased by that. I know she would have gotten the various accents right.
I may come back some other time to add more thoughts on this
I am in two minds about this book. The book is very Nigerian in the best possible way. The way Esther describes being an immigrant in a new country and the return to one’s own country, the traditions, the everydayness of Nigerian life? Absolutely incredible!
This is a very authentic book. Words fail me in my description of how close to home the atmosphere felt.
With that being said, I deeply disliked everyone in this book. Time for me to stand on my moral high ground
I understand that Somkele was in her early twenties and I have grace for her in that regard but my goodness she was not a good person. She was also very hypocritical and I hate when a babe is so concerned with romantic love that she can’t think straight.
The weird thing between her Bayo and Bryan…
Bayo is also a vindictive son of a bitch. Bryan the biracial(derogatory). I often felt the way Somkele felt when he was taking pictures and all that. Like I get it but I was also annoyed.
As someone who has been diagnosed with depression, I was very sympathetic towards Mezie but also what a despicable human being. I don’t think mental illness is a reason to be so awful. He was awful to the two women, Chisom and Elin, to Bryan, to that poor man that was mending his pants, to Somkele. I don’t have siblings so I don’t understand that fierce need to protect someone at the detriment of one’s self. Siblings fascinate me (derogatory).
Somkele’s parents?? Her mom? I have no words.
The hit and run, the subsequent way in which it was dealt with was very typical. Nigeria is such a lawless country.
I couldn’t even be mad at Bryan’s little essay but wow also that was intense. They were so awful to one another. I wish they never carried on with the relationship after she had sex with Bayo after she was with Bryan. She felt so privileged to be loved by Bryan that she had no sense of self. She never had a sense of self anyways.
Even Somkele’s friendships were a mess.
With all that being said, I think Esther Ifesinaci Okonkwo did a beautiful job of portraying deeply flawed characters.
I think it ended in the best way it could have. I think this book will be a huge hit! I hope she writes more books because she’s a talented storyteller. Although I read this on kindle via Libby(thank you again to my friend in the US - please protect the libraries), I had listened to a sample of the audiobook and it was by a Nigerian so I was deeply pleased by that. I know she would have gotten the various accents right.
I may come back some other time to add more thoughts on this
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2025
Not my cup of tea. One big boring inner monologue with sprinkles of conflict.
June 6, 2025
From its first few pages, it would be easy to assume that "The Tiny Things Are Heavier" is yet another installment in the literary canon of dark academia. But although Nigerian writer Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo’s debut novel partially takes place on a U.S. campus, it transcends the boundaries of the university—and the United States—to ask painful questions about universal themes, such as human dignity and the limits of family loyalty.
"The Tiny Things Are Heavier" begins at a small airport in an Iowa town. Sommy, a 20-something Nigerian woman, has arrived in the United States to pursue a graduate degree in literature at the fictional James Crowley University. She struggles to integrate into her new surroundings, burdened by what she left behind in Lagos.
Shortly before Sommy’s departure, her older brother Mezie attempted suicide... [[READ THE REST IN FP: https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/06/...]]
"The Tiny Things Are Heavier" begins at a small airport in an Iowa town. Sommy, a 20-something Nigerian woman, has arrived in the United States to pursue a graduate degree in literature at the fictional James Crowley University. She struggles to integrate into her new surroundings, burdened by what she left behind in Lagos.
Shortly before Sommy’s departure, her older brother Mezie attempted suicide... [[READ THE REST IN FP: https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/06/...]]
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January 2, 2026First book of the year and its a good one
July 17, 2025
Life-changing (I've never resonated with a story on this level before)
July 14, 2025
I didn't hate it but also didn't enjoy this story as I'd hoped to. actually, I feel like this would've worked better as a short story collection. so many different characters with their own stuff going on, great plot but didn't necessarily tie back to the MCs and that made the whole plot feel a bit disjointed to me.
July 10, 2025
*this does contain spoilers*
This is one of those books that makes you feel almost a sense of nervousness the entire time you are reading it. There are aren’t any moments in the first half of that have pushed me to a true sense of “uncomfortableness” but it’s brewing almost right under the surface, waiting to bubble over like a pot. I usually get this feeling when I read novels that are centered around young black women or women of color because so many of our stories from adolescence all the way up to adulthood contain some sort of pain, abuse or emotional/physical scarring. It can be scary/daunting to dive into these types of stories at times, you have to prepare yourself mentally for it. I truly detest reading about the suffering of women at times but I know it is a thread that connects us in more ways than one. It is quite sad that some of the the characteristics of our lives/upbringings that cause us grief are also one of the things that connects us the most.
Sommy is a 25 year old woman from Nigeria who ventures to the United States to attend graduate school in Iowa after contending with the aftermath of her eldest brother’s suicide attempt. Being that Sommy is from Nigeria, a country where the dealings are around suicide are quite skewed in comparison to how they are in the US, Sommy struggles a lot with the realization that her brother is deliberately not communicating with her about anything regarding his life/emotions, this causes a huge strain on the relationship between her and her family. Sommy is dealing with immense feeling of not only homesickness but also loneliness, all while navigating a new identity/personhood in a foreign country.
During Sommy’s journey back to her family home with her boyfriend in tow she watches not only the remnants of her past come back to the surface but also the dealings of her current life coming undone before her eyes.
The Tiny Things are Heavier is a tumultuous story of kinship, loneliness and the woes of self love as well as familial love, and how those things differ amongst societal norms across diasporas.
I am rating this 4 ⭐️’s!
This is one of those books that makes you feel almost a sense of nervousness the entire time you are reading it. There are aren’t any moments in the first half of that have pushed me to a true sense of “uncomfortableness” but it’s brewing almost right under the surface, waiting to bubble over like a pot. I usually get this feeling when I read novels that are centered around young black women or women of color because so many of our stories from adolescence all the way up to adulthood contain some sort of pain, abuse or emotional/physical scarring. It can be scary/daunting to dive into these types of stories at times, you have to prepare yourself mentally for it. I truly detest reading about the suffering of women at times but I know it is a thread that connects us in more ways than one. It is quite sad that some of the the characteristics of our lives/upbringings that cause us grief are also one of the things that connects us the most.
Sommy is a 25 year old woman from Nigeria who ventures to the United States to attend graduate school in Iowa after contending with the aftermath of her eldest brother’s suicide attempt. Being that Sommy is from Nigeria, a country where the dealings are around suicide are quite skewed in comparison to how they are in the US, Sommy struggles a lot with the realization that her brother is deliberately not communicating with her about anything regarding his life/emotions, this causes a huge strain on the relationship between her and her family. Sommy is dealing with immense feeling of not only homesickness but also loneliness, all while navigating a new identity/personhood in a foreign country.
During Sommy’s journey back to her family home with her boyfriend in tow she watches not only the remnants of her past come back to the surface but also the dealings of her current life coming undone before her eyes.
The Tiny Things are Heavier is a tumultuous story of kinship, loneliness and the woes of self love as well as familial love, and how those things differ amongst societal norms across diasporas.
I am rating this 4 ⭐️’s!
August 8, 2025
4.5 ⭐️ kind of a meandering start but then it really found its voice and flow. Heart wrenching, introspective, raw like wow
July 18, 2025
The relationship between Sommy and Brian was always a mess. I never felt this was a romance book. It was a drama about a woman who thinks she is a good person but made horrible decisions every chance she got. Bryan didn’t respect her but she didn’t respect herself so of course she stayed with a man who didn’t want her. But the book was beautifully written. I enjoyed it and wanted more
July 12, 2025
Worth it in the end
I struggled through most of the book because I found most of the characters unlikable. The main character really grew in the end. She allows herself to look at herself and recognize her successes and failures.
I struggled through most of the book because I found most of the characters unlikable. The main character really grew in the end. She allows herself to look at herself and recognize her successes and failures.
October 22, 2025
This book is a masterpiece. A true surprise as the first half of Part 1 is slow, chronicling in great detail the mundaneness of life as a foreign student. The sense of otherness, longing and loneliness. This quickly picks up pace when Sommy (the protagonist) meets Bryan. She becomes embroiled in a web of deceit between her inability to process the attempted suicide of her brother Mezie, her convenient smashing of her roommate Bayo, and a blossoming infatuation with mixed race Bryan.
Part 2 takes us on a wild ride, past the borders of USA, to Nigeria. A return for both Bryan and Sommy, and a trip in which hope is the anchor for their survival. It’s gripping, raw, and emotive. The writing is visceral and addictive, and I couldn’t put this down. Definitely one of my favourite reads of 2025!
My standout quotes:
“A proverb in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God…”when we see an old woman stop in her dance to point again and again in the same direction, we can be sure that somewhere there, something happened long ago that touched the roots of her life.”
“At every point, we exist in the realm of the spoken and the unspoken.”
“Did the world work for men in this way? They did whatever they pleased and everyone understood; explained it away. How different the scenario would be if she were in Mezie’s shoes.”
“Life was a tangled mess, and she would constantly be in a state of untangling it.”
“What does she do with love bent on ruining her?”
“It is through fiction - and not the law, or religion, or philosophy - that I gained understanding of an incomprehensible situation.”
“Isn’t this utterly human, this psychosis? Isn’t that why fiction exist? To scour through the inexplicable, the shameful, the ugly with great humility and a thorough lack of judgment?”
Part 2 takes us on a wild ride, past the borders of USA, to Nigeria. A return for both Bryan and Sommy, and a trip in which hope is the anchor for their survival. It’s gripping, raw, and emotive. The writing is visceral and addictive, and I couldn’t put this down. Definitely one of my favourite reads of 2025!
My standout quotes:
“A proverb in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God…”when we see an old woman stop in her dance to point again and again in the same direction, we can be sure that somewhere there, something happened long ago that touched the roots of her life.”
“At every point, we exist in the realm of the spoken and the unspoken.”
“Did the world work for men in this way? They did whatever they pleased and everyone understood; explained it away. How different the scenario would be if she were in Mezie’s shoes.”
“Life was a tangled mess, and she would constantly be in a state of untangling it.”
“What does she do with love bent on ruining her?”
“It is through fiction - and not the law, or religion, or philosophy - that I gained understanding of an incomprehensible situation.”
“Isn’t this utterly human, this psychosis? Isn’t that why fiction exist? To scour through the inexplicable, the shameful, the ugly with great humility and a thorough lack of judgment?”
July 8, 2025
Is home a place? A person? A feeling? Sommy, a young Nigerian woman seeking her master’s degree in America, finds herself asking this when she visits Nigeria after two years away. During her visit, a traumatic event causes lasting rifts in her relationships and haunts her after her return to the United States.
A beautifully written and emotionally resonant debut by Nigerian author Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo, this was a reading experience I won’t easily forget. This book started out as a story about a Nigerian graduate student in Iowa who finds herself in a love triangle, but it grew to be so much richer and deeper than that. Sommy’s story explores the cultural divide experienced by young Nigerians who move to the US, specifically when it comes to the complexities of familial obligation and the way masculine emotion and mental health are perceived and treated by these two very different societies.
Although it quietly meanders and takes its time, this was an engrossing read that felt longer than its 288 pages and certainly did not read like a debut novel. I would highly recommend this novel to fans of Akwaeke Emezi and The Idiot by Elif Batuman.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for the opportunity to be an early reader of this title, available now!
A beautifully written and emotionally resonant debut by Nigerian author Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo, this was a reading experience I won’t easily forget. This book started out as a story about a Nigerian graduate student in Iowa who finds herself in a love triangle, but it grew to be so much richer and deeper than that. Sommy’s story explores the cultural divide experienced by young Nigerians who move to the US, specifically when it comes to the complexities of familial obligation and the way masculine emotion and mental health are perceived and treated by these two very different societies.
Although it quietly meanders and takes its time, this was an engrossing read that felt longer than its 288 pages and certainly did not read like a debut novel. I would highly recommend this novel to fans of Akwaeke Emezi and The Idiot by Elif Batuman.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for the opportunity to be an early reader of this title, available now!
July 18, 2025
Well, I thought this was going to be your typical Nigerian romance - starting out in the vein of novels like "Americanah" and "A Halal Love Story" that describe Nigerian students going abroad, struggling to fit in, and eventually finding their first American boyfriend, with all the usual cultural differences, etc.
But it's absolutely unique, because this happens all within the first act. From that point on, it takes such an original twist (at least for me). it invokes a lot of questions about love, morality and grief. Extreme brilliance. I loved it.
But it's absolutely unique, because this happens all within the first act. From that point on, it takes such an original twist (at least for me). it invokes a lot of questions about love, morality and grief. Extreme brilliance. I loved it.
October 23, 2025
I started this slowly but once I got going, I couldn't stop.
I didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. Each twist and turn, drama and otherwise got me excited. The Lagos characters were believable and I loved travelling with the characters on their journey personal and physical. From Sommy and her group of friends in Iowa to her family in Lagos and Mezie and his in Norway, I enjoyed it.
I loved how it starts off in the present day and then transported via flashback to fill you in on what happened in the past - a great book to highlight how people deal with the same situation differently.
PS Going abroad isn't always what its cracked up to be.
I didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. Each twist and turn, drama and otherwise got me excited. The Lagos characters were believable and I loved travelling with the characters on their journey personal and physical. From Sommy and her group of friends in Iowa to her family in Lagos and Mezie and his in Norway, I enjoyed it.
I loved how it starts off in the present day and then transported via flashback to fill you in on what happened in the past - a great book to highlight how people deal with the same situation differently.
PS Going abroad isn't always what its cracked up to be.
October 25, 2025
3.75/5 — I enjoyed the themes more as I went back and noted my (library-safe) annotations. I could reread this again (while not under the pressure to finish by a certain time because of book club) and would probably take more away from it. I’d like to explore more Sommy’s relationships with other women, especially considering the scene of the gossiping ladies at her mother’s Thanksgiving party.
September 23, 2025
This book was such a raw and real account for human messy behaviors and the slow process of life falling apart. I cried at least three times. Okonkwo captures that enraging feeling of life changing out of your grasp and one having to start life over in a permanent way. Heart wrenching and destroying.
November 18, 2025
The Tiny Thing Are Heavier is the kind of book where the characters stay with you; each one of them flawed but also relatable. I love how this book is written and I find Sommy's tracing back and forth in search of herself as an adult refreshing, especially in relation to her relationships with the people in her life.
Much love to a book that felt like I've been socialising through just reading.
Much love to a book that felt like I've been socialising through just reading.
August 22, 2025
The story had a great start, and I enjoyed the writing itself, but somewhere in the middle, it took a melodramatic turn that made the main characters hard to like. The ending was sad, but not in the way that left me feeling content or satisfied with Somkele’s outcome.
September 16, 2025
maybe a 2.5. yeah i liked this until i didn’t really. all the characters just got really annoying (except for the side characters like amara, kayla & nia who i wish were developed slightly more) and the drama just didn’t hook me. if we focused less of the kinda crazy relationship between sommy & bryan, i think i would have enjoyed this a lot more. this was well written & a solid debut!
reading around the world challenge 23/249: nigeria!
reading around the world challenge 23/249: nigeria!
January 2, 2026
Although I wasn’t completely drawn into the story at the beginning, it quickly shifted and I found myself forming an emotional bond with Sommy, almost feeling like I was living her life alongside her. I couldn’t put the book down and ended up reading the second half in one sitting. My first read of the year, and I couldn’t have imagined a better one.
November 30, 2025
This book was beautiful. Not predictable at all and honestly keeps to the hard truths of love and family. You should read it :)
December 31, 2025
Enjoyable, well-written mess
July 8, 2025
Was definitely not my normal read. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either.
October 15, 2025
“She, who had at last found love. She, for whom life had finally opened for. Look how easily the wind blew everything away.”
A gut wrenching, immensely moving and profound tale of love, grief, belonging and everything in between. Ifesinachi Okonkwo’s debut is a powerful and unforgettable one, a story which left me frantically turning the pages with a huge lump in my throat, as I desperately hoped for a happy ending. From where I’m standing, if you finish a book and want nothing more than to give any of the characters the biggest hug, the author is doing something pretty special. A beautiful read in every way, shape and form.
Thank you so much Clare Kelly at Bonnier Books for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review, and congratulations Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo on an incredible debut!
A gut wrenching, immensely moving and profound tale of love, grief, belonging and everything in between. Ifesinachi Okonkwo’s debut is a powerful and unforgettable one, a story which left me frantically turning the pages with a huge lump in my throat, as I desperately hoped for a happy ending. From where I’m standing, if you finish a book and want nothing more than to give any of the characters the biggest hug, the author is doing something pretty special. A beautiful read in every way, shape and form.
Thank you so much Clare Kelly at Bonnier Books for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review, and congratulations Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo on an incredible debut!
August 5, 2025
The more I think about it, the less I liked this book which is a shame I really wanted to enjoy it more.
The first shock of the book for me was the situation with Bayo - answering the phone to have Bryan listen left me feeling sick. The second half of part two I was feeling a bit lost as the story moves quickly from infidelity (Chisom, Mezie, Elin triangle) to the murder of Christine. Then what put me over the edge was Sommy's lack of interest in going to therapy after for the majority of the book she is trying to convince her brother to seek professional help.
The first shock of the book for me was the situation with Bayo - answering the phone to have Bryan listen left me feeling sick. The second half of part two I was feeling a bit lost as the story moves quickly from infidelity (Chisom, Mezie, Elin triangle) to the murder of Christine. Then what put me over the edge was Sommy's lack of interest in going to therapy after for the majority of the book she is trying to convince her brother to seek professional help.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2025
She thinks often now of a proverb in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God, a required reading in her Transnational Feminism class: “When we see an old woman stop in her dance to point again and again in the same direction we can be sure that somewhere there something happened long ago which touched the roots of her life.” She’s certain that, for her, Mezie’s attempt is the thing that touched the roots of her life, and it is the direction she’ll forever point at. Why else would this encounter with Bryan make her constantly feel like sinking to the ground in pain?
I initially heard of this novel due to its inclusion in a 2025 Booker Prediction post by cheriebooksreadthisyear who pointed out it that its UK version has a blurb by one Booker Judge (Kiley Reid) and then realising that its heavy setting in Lagos would likely appeal to a second judge (Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀).
The author - Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo lives in the US (having studied at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and now taking a PhD in Creative Writing at Florida State University) but counts home as Lagos, Nigeria and her novel is inspired by her own experiences – with a protagonist Sommy (Somkelchukwu) also from Lagos and also studying at Graduate School in the US.
The novel opens with her arrival in Iowa (after a connecting flight from Chicago) to start University – having moved to the US only only two weeks after a failed suicide attempt by her brother Mezie (Mezie having struggled to find a job in Nigeria, moved to Norway and found a girlfriend Elin, only to be deported for travelling around Europe on false papers) – Mezie since then refusing to answer her messages and she believes attempting (with some success) to guilt trip about her decision not to postpone her travel.
The author has said of her motivations for the novel: “I come from a lineage of postcolonial writers—Achebe, Emecheta, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, so my impulse is to write about society. I, of course, want to tell a good story first and foremost. With The Tiny Things are Heavier I wanted to write about the stark realities of being a young Nigerian person without means navigating an ancient and enormous system designed to keep one oppressed. I wanted to look at the different dimensions of class, the spectrum of privilege. And I wanted to do it in real and urgent ways by depicting the multi impacts of living under these conditions through the relationships that form and dissolve in the novel.”
And Sommy (the close third party point of view character for the full novel) immediately struggles with fitting in as a new student, as an immigrant – at times observing or experiencing microaggressions, and with the added pressure of the Mezie fallout – small things which cumulatively weigh down on her as the title would suggest.
Over time, she falls rather passively into two relationships – neither it is clear to the reader entirely wise even in isolation: one with her rather more confident fellow Nigerian roommate Bayo, the other with Bryan who approaches her in a park – Bryan has a rich white American mother but a Nigerian father who he has never met (he returning to Nigeria as soon as Bryan came along) – but the combination inevitably disastrous.
In this first section I am not and will not be the only person to perhaps think of Brandon Taylor’s “Real Life” – and some perhaps rather over-earnest writing and characters, here not helped by their more art based studies.
A second part begins again with a flight arrival – this time in Lagos as a newly reconciled Sommy and Bryan arrive there: both looking for further reconciliation with their families:
Sommy with Mezie (although that gets off to a very rocky start – the, at least for me very self-centred Sommy both upset that he does not give her the apology she seems to think she deserves for his blanking of her while she was in the US and again for me hypocritically judging him for seeming to maintain a relationship with Elin while also carrying on with his longer term on-off Nigerian girlfriends).
Bryan both with what he considers the country of his origins and with his long-lost father – although both encounters (one on-going during the trip, one a one-off visit) fall well short of his expectations – and both of which he reacts to with at best limited amounts of grace and maturity (increasingly judgmentally giving up on the former, while unrealistically convinced he can restore the dementia-afflicted latter).
And when a drunk driving incident threatens calamity for the family – but one easily dealt with by the use of the very money and privilege which Sommy can benefit from in Lagos but which is entirely absent (unless by Bryan-proxy) in the US – Bryan proves equally but oppositely aware and judgmental of class/money/privilege in another country (and blind to it in his own country and life).
A third part has Sommy and Bryan back in the US – Bryan now on the verge of being a successful and published novelist but with a breach between them which first therapy and then marriage form at best a very temporary repair, but one punctured permanently by a confessional essay which Bryan publishes (and which is reproduced in the text).
And the fourth and final section again begins with an airport arrival – Sommy returning to Nigeria to make both a new life and amends for past issues.
Overall, this is a novel which grows in depth and complexity as it goes – really taking off I think towards the end of the second section. It was however one of those novels where I did feel that political themes, literary resonances and the core characters were more real and meaningful to the author than to me – although if it were Booker listed (and I do think it’s a good possibility) one I would enjoy revisiting with other readers as I think those discussions would bring it more to life.
My thanks to Bonnier Books for an ARC via NetGalley
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