Little Rot: A Novel
“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.
"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.
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Community Reviews
First let me say….This was my first read by this author…and it was a Bookclub read!
Trigger Warning: Sexual Abuse (lots of it)
I don’t know how I really feel about this book because it was all over the place! There was A LOT going on and it was CrAZy (because I don’t know a better word to describe it). It was literally one CraZy CHAOTIC thing after another! There was just way too much going on in this story…it could have been written better, in my opinion (my opinion ONLY).
I don’t think I would’ve picked this up on my own 😩 I didn’t have a mark set, BUT this missed the mark for me!
If I could give 4.5 stars I would. I was a fan of how it felt like hopping into a car and going on a ride. Some of the moments felts graphic for graphicness' sake but overallreally liked thisbook and the writing.
This was a wild ride. Gives you a glimpse of the underworld and the people in power. At times I was disgusted, but very much intrigued. A good read.
Overall, I enjoyed the writing and pacing of the book. Emezi skillfully pulls you into the lives of six friends and takes you along on their dizzying weekend adventure. Little Rot explores the duality of life in New Lagos, where characters grapple with the tension between desire and religion, love and loss, arousal and violence. The writing itself is captivating, but the ending falls short, leaving the story feeling unresolved. In the end readers leave the book where they started, trapped in the despair and rot swallows us all.
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