Proudly Nigerian

In “A Private Experience”, a medical student hides from a violent riot with a poor Muslim woman whose dignity and faith force her to confront the realities and fears she’s been pushing away. In “Tomorrow is Too Far”, a woman unlocks the devastating secret that surrounds her brother’s death. The young mother at the centre of “Imitation” finds her comfortable life threatened when she learns that her husband is back in Lagos and has moved his mistress into their home. And the title story depicts the choking loneliness of a Nigerian girl who moves to an America that turns out to be nothing like the country she expected; though falling in love brings her desires nearly within reach, a death in her homeland forces her to re-examine them. Searing and profound, suffused with beauty, sorrow and longing, this collection is a resounding confirmation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s prodigious storytelling powers.

Hortensia and Marion are next door neighbours in a charming, bougainvillea-laden Cape Town suburb. One is black, one white. Both are successful women with impressive careers behind them. Both have recently been widowed. Both are in their eighties. And both are sworn enemies, sharing hedge and hostility prined with zeal.
But one day an unforeseen event forces the women together. Could long-held mutual loathing transform into friendship?

Love thy neighbour? Easier said than done.

Fearless and authentically refreshing in its narratives, “There’s A Heaven for Bad Girls” journeys into the hearts and minds of young Nigerian women and girls who have often been silenced, overlooked, and made to conform to societal norms. The five captivating short stories are powerful gems that read, at intervals, like secret diaries of their compelling protagonists. Through her fluid storytelling, Adenrele Niyi, a Nigeria Media Merit Award, (NMMA), Entertainment Writer of the Year finalist, skillfully takes us on a ‘short ride in a fast car’.

From the nuanced interplay between individuals and systems, religion and culture, love and desire, to the hopelessness of aborted dreams, the stories offer a youthful perspective on contemporary social issues. There’s A Heaven for Bad Girls delves into identity struggles in a trado-modern society that demands conformity, unveils the raw resilience of teenagers facing daunting odds, and explores the transformative power of love, all while championing the spirit of entrepreneurship and the urgent need for social change.

Fadeke and Chinedu are shocked when they come across each other in the elevator of a building they both work in. Chinedu has searched for her the past six years. Fadeke is hurt by an incident that happened in Chinedu’s apartment six years ago which he is unaware of. An incident which altered the course of her life, family and relationships. This romance story centres on campus life, tribalism, deceit and forgiveness.