Little Rot
A Novel
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4.4 • 5 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
“A masterwork…mesmerizing…We come away troubled, unsettled — and in some subtle way changed.”–The New York Times
"The perfect steamy read for those hot summer nights." –People
A thrilling new novel from the bestselling, award-winning, visionary Akwaeke Emezi
One weekend.
The elite underbelly of a Nigerian city.
A party that goes awry.
A tangled web of sex and lies and corruption that leaves no one unscathed.
Aima and Kalu are a longtime couple who have just split. When Kalu, reeling from the breakup, visits an exclusive sex party hosted by his best friend, Ahmed, he makes a decision that will plunge them all into chaos, brutally and suddenly upending their lives. Ola and Souraya, two Nigerian sex workers visiting from Kuala Lumpur, collide into the scene just as everything goes to hell. Sucked into the city’s corrupt and glittering underworld, they’re all looking for a way out, fueled by a desperate need to escape the dangerous threat that looms over them.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Nothing is off-limits in this thriller, as author Akwaeke Emezi transports us to the seedy, sealed-off nightlife of Nigeria’s wealthy, where a complicated mix of violence and ecstasy reigns. Five friends, from sex workers to a couple navigating an agonizing breakup, find themselves pulled into this sleazy but glamorous scene. When one messes with the wrong powerful person, they quickly discover the dark side to a world where any desire—no matter how taboo—can be satiated. Emezi draws formidably real characters: free-spirited yet controlling party boy Ahmed and seductive but tortured globe-trotting trans sex worker Ola are nuanced reminders that even the most ostentatiously extreme people contain multitudes. And the neon-lit Nigerian nightlife is equally colourful: Emezi spares no shimmering detail in lusciously describing the gated communities, high-octane cars, and decadent catering of this hedonistic fantasyland. For a novel that gives you the best kind of whiplash through its detailed world of a sexy yet nightmarish nightlife, pick up Little Rot.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Emezi (The Death of Vivek Oji) unspools a web of erotic danger in their entertaining latest. Kalu, a young man in New Lagos, Nigeria, is dumped by Aima, his girlfriend of four years. That night, Kalu attends a high-priced sex party run by his friend Ahmed. There, Kalu witnesses an older man having sex with a handcuffed younger woman who appears to be a teen. Believing he is witnessing a rape, Kalu forcefully pulls the older man away, to the chagrin of Ahmed, who claims it was all consensual role play and that the man, a megachurch pastor known as Daddy O, is a good customer. As the narrative shifts focus from one member of Aima and Kalu's wealthy world to the next, subplots, side characters, and sex scenes abound. Meanwhile, Kalu finds himself in increasing peril, as an incensed Daddy O calls for his murder. Emezi keeps the proliferating plotlines together by the power of coincidence—a crucial set of keys appears at just the right time, as does a hidden wad of cash—which gives the story both the convolution and the pleasure of a soap opera. Readers in search of a decadent good time will find it here.
