Author(s): Okechukwu Nzelu

Fiction

From award-winning author Okechukwu Nzelu comes a spellbinding literary novel that asks, how do you move forward when the past keeps pulling you back?

Achike Okoro feels like his life is coming together at last. His top-floor flat in Peckham is as close to home as he can imagine and after years of hard work, he's about to get his break as an actor. He's even persuaded his father, Chibuike, to move in with him, grateful to offer the man who raised him as a single parent a home of his own.

Between filming trips, Achike is snatching a few days in London with Ekene, his best friend of twenty years, the person who makes him feel whole. Achike can put the terrible things that happened behind him at last; everything is going to be alright. Maybe even better.

But after a magical night, when Achike and Ekene come within a hair's breadth of admitting their feelings for each other, a devastating event rips all three men apart. In the aftermath, it is Ekene and Chibuike who must try to rebuild. And although they have never truly understood each other, grief may bring them both the peace and happiness they've been searching for...

A heartbreaking and immensely uplifting novel about lovers, fathers and sons. If you love The Vanishing Half, Ta Nehisi-Coates or Girl, Woman, Other then you'll adore this this incredibly moving book that shows the power of family - both the one into which we are born and those we choose for ourselves.

What readers are saying about Okechukwu Nzelu, winner of a Betty Trask Award:

'Effortlessly captured the tricky nuance of life, love, race, sexuality and familial relationships... I haven't been able to put it down.' Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie

'A magnificent novel, full of wit, warmth and tenderness.' Andrew McMillan, author and poet

'Okechukwu writes with confidence, wit and humour. Unforgettable characters and a voice that stays with you even after the final page.' Derek Owusu, writer, poet and podcaster

'Witty confidence... Smart, serious and entertaining.' Bernardine Evaristo, Booker-winning author of Girl, Woman, Other

'Hooked me from the very beginning... I loved the precision and lyricism of the sentences... A lightness of touch.' Jenn Ashworth