Things They Lost

Written by Okwiri Oduor

Narrated by Christel Mutombo

Ayosa is a wandering spirit – joyous, exuberant, filled to the brim with longing. Her only companions in the Kenyan town she calls home are as lonely as Ayosa herself: the ghostly Fatumas, the sullen milkman and Sindano, the owner of a café that no one ever visits.

But a curse hangs over the women in Ayosa's family, a curse which has blighted the life of her mother, Nabumbo Promise. When her new friend Mbui offers her an alternative life, one that would involve leaving Nabumbo Promise behind, Ayosa must decide how much she owes her fearsome, mercurial mama.

Set at the intersection of the spirit world and the human one, suffused with Kenyan folklore and myth, Things They Lost is an unforgettable novel about mothers and daughters, about ghostly longing and about love at its most intoxicating and dangerous, from a standout new literary voice.

'A wondrous newborn - mewling, dewy, twinkling, gurgling a tale steeped in the acrid surrealism of childhood, populated by wicked wraiths and held together by the vicious spell mothers can cast on their daughters.' ? Leila Aboulela, author of Bird Summons

'A narrative so profound, its humour shining so bright, that you'd think the author had written hundreds of books to have mastered the art of perpetual storytelling. A stunning debut!' -- Onyeka Nwelue, author of The Strangers of Braamfontein

'From the start, Oduor – a winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing, among other honours – broadcasts her tremendous talents... Come for the beguiling narrative, and stay for the rich, evocative language.' -- Vulture

'A coming-of-age tale that deftly refuses to play magic realism straight, Okwiri Oduor's Things they Lost blends the phantasmagoria of Tutuola's The Palm-Wine Drinkard with the deadpan, wry humour of Bolaño. A welcome new Kenyan voice.' -- Olufemi Terry, author of Stickfighting Days

'Otherworldly, unconventional, delectably surreal. One of the most magical and exhilarating introductions to a main character. Okwiri has taken language, sculpted something new and splendid out of it to deliver to the world. An array of some of the most memorable 'in-between-worlds' characters enter the literary world from Mapeli Town with aplomb. What a debut! What a gift!' -- Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, author of The Dragonfly Sea

• Language: English
• Publisher: W. F. Howes Ltd
• Release date: Apr 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781004076574

Okwiri Oduor

Okwiri Oduor was born in Nairobi, Kenya. Her short story “My Father’s Head” won the 2014 Caine Prize for African Writing. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Granta, The New Inquiry, Kwani, and elsewhere. She has been a fellow at MacDowell and Art Omi and a visiting writer at the Lannan Center. Oduor has an MFA in creative writing from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She currently lives in Germany.

Reviews for Things They Lost

[Oladeji Slitz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A spellbinding narration with language so eloquent, it would make you pause and say 'hmmm'.

[Pebi Books · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is confusing. I don't like confusing texts. Like it requires the reader to pay 100% attention to it and even when you do it still leaves you lost. Grasping at whatever. Then you're back on track but you've missed what the last chapter was actually trying to achieve.

Its getting ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 from me. It's beautiful and not.

It was just not my cup of tea. Magical realism is just not it for me.

It touches on the relationships between mothers and daughters and the psychological effects in a poetic - figure what I'm trying to say - way. WTF

[Harriet Atieno · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The narrator’s voice kept me glued. Found the flashbacks more intriguing than the main story itself.