And Then He Sang a Lullaby

<b>Ani Kayode Somtochukwu</b> is an award-winning Nigerian writer and queer liberation activist. His work interrogates themes of queer identity resistance and liberation and has appeared in literary magazines across Africa Europe Asia and North America. His work has received wide recognition having been longlisted for the 2017 Awele Creative Trust Prize and the 2020 Afritondo Short Story Prize. He was shortlisted for the 2017 Erbacce Prize for Poetry the 2020 ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award and the 2020 Toyin Falola Prize. The manuscript for this novel was awarded the 2021 James Currey Prize for African Literature. <b>The inaugural title from Roxane Gay Books<i> And Then He Sang a Lullaby</i> is a searingly honest debut from a Nigerian writer and queer liberation activist exploring what love and freedom cost in a society steeped in homophobia.</b><br><br>August is a talented athlete who leaves Enugu City to attend university and escape his overbearing sisters. It's his first semester and pressures aside he's making friends and doing well. He even almost has a girlfriend. There's only one problem: he can't stop thinking about Segun an openly gay student who works at a local cybercafé. Their connection is undeniable but Segun is reluctant to open himself up to August. He wants to love and be loved by a man who is comfortable in his own skin who will see and hold and love Segun exactly as he is.<br><br>Despite their differences August and Segun forge a tender intimacy that defies the violence around them. But there is only so long Segun can stand being loved behind closed doors while August lives a life beyond the world they've created together.<br><br>And when a new sweeping anti-gay law is passed August and Segun must find a way for their love to survive in a Nigeria that was always determined to eradicate them. A tale of rare bravery and profound beauty <i>And Then He Sang a Lullaby </i>is an extraordinary debut that marks Ani Kayode Somtochukwu as a voice to watch. Captivating passionate and utterly heartbreaking this debut novel tells the story of two young gay men in Nigeria who are determined to love each other despite all that stands in their way. This moving debut is <b>a touching queer coming of age story</b> a poignant romance and most affectingly a damning indictment of the hate and homophobia that are all too prevalent in the modern world After reading this <b>courageous heart-in-mouth</b> debut about the lives and loves of young gay Nigerians I can't wait to see what Ani Kayode Somtochukwu writes next In stunning luminous prose Ani Kayode Somtochukwu captures how it feels to carry both the love and burden of family and what it costs to bear the weight of revolutions - the ones happening inside of us and beyond. A <b>beautifully written captivating</b> debut! <b>This book is astonishing.</b> A gay love story set in present-day Nigeria it's beautifully written but the experiences it explores are shocking sobering and stirring. It's left me heartbroken but feeling privileged to have read it - and excited to see what Ani Kayode Somtochukwu writes next! A beautifully-drawn book tender and moving. I adored being in the embrace of Segun and August as they navigate the unaccepting world around them and their longing for one another. Ani Kayode Somtochukwu writes with an ease and a wisdom that belies his age. <b>This is exactly the kind of writing that makes your heart soar and whimper</b> in equal parts I'm in awe of the way Somtochukwu writes into the knot of love bringing forth the steely tenderness of queer desire amidst great peril. <b>This isn't just a beautiful story it's deeply needed and liberating.</b> This <b>timely and </b><b>striking</b> love story resonates with authenticity [An] <b>achingly beautiful</b> love story...a compelling mature work of narrative grace