Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Things They Lost: A Novel
Things They Lost: A Novel
Things They Lost: A Novel
Ebook383 pages8 hours

Things They Lost: A Novel

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

Named a Most Anticipated Book by Vogue and Vulture

“Alternately whimsical, sweet, and dark,” this astonishing debut novel about a lonely girl waiting for her mother “brim[s] with uncompromisingly African magical realism” (The New York Times).

Ayosa is a wandering spirit—joyous, exuberant, filled to the brim with longing. Her only companions in her grandmother’s crumbling house are as lonely as Ayosa herself: the ghostly Fatumas, whose eyes are the size of bay windows, who teach her to dance and wail at the death news; the Jolly-Annas, cruel birds who cover their solitude with spiteful laughter; the milkman, who never greets Ayosa and whose milk tastes of mud; and Sindano, the kind owner of a café no one ever visits. Unexpectedly, miraculously, one day Ayosa finds a friend. Yet she is always fixed on her beautiful mama, Nabumbo Promise: a mysterious and aloof photographer, she comes and goes as she pleases, with no apology or warning.

Set at the intersection of the spirit world and the human one, Things They Lost sets out a rich and magical vision of “girlhood as a time of complexity, laced with unparalleled creativity and expansion” (Vogue). Heartbreaking, elegant, and written in “giddily exuberant prose” (Financial Times), it’s a story about connection, coming-of-age, and the dizzying dualities of love at its most intoxicating and all-encompassing.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherScribner
Release dateApr 12, 2022
ISBN9781982102593
Things They Lost: A Novel
Author

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.

Related to Things They Lost

Related ebooks

Magical Realism For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Things They Lost

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

5 ratings1 review

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I'd read this described as magical realism, but I don't think it's that, rather it describes the effect of trauma and the psychological strategies humans use to survive it, using as its patterns the Kenyan folkloric and cultural motifs natural to its protagonist.I enjoyed the way the story flowed and gradually opened out, integrating the reader into the experience of the main character's disintegration and reintegration. It's dark and painful at times, but ultimately hopeful, full of love and compassion.

Book preview

Things They Lost - Okwiri Oduor

 bbook_preview_excerpt.html}KFUͬ/wYBh5WlnCyɞ:;0ф+XpՀMKCGIwq85{?>g̵e m6 INK/ XDYs/f9=nG|uENQ| or@™9Jy%e8x1/vD?rհY'b;ԏ1t2JXƟ0gA-&e%\w=4_a+T:shAfق;Yf㖟䖳^[)d\ceV,&}%9>: ǔgb9s u7)(AkI\M{^'Y귗(xΎ<"S- Ix q]\&=;GPKmoF~R/*B,a՝UiP5MBSs\ J?4o./TVoD iľ| &~ѼQ !ĶPPYzL$MP&"ON8b޿/AJj*7ڐ<"htwq+ቸjp) p dC@?ڴ-ӛ&߄GN\d "F4 k~I. NB Յ(^SXL~ǯ.\!w g> 9 E7濹q͏"}󗐄3ܗ!8$aQyBXީ,"D@]Q(  * oGx{-_* .ʺJT:>v(AVg|R])nvGZQ|# \(v>>ĻAw4' e0. ЂR_pk1QNd\^wT) <{|²pPEv-c48$Զu)yD $ NA^ߟ.Eق 2+`7DK-yá"DjTz:)܆fq" )$  2 @&?ŪA,c|}^yx"_!rcBO"?;1: Ɵ S|-~p{ua-!ޮ7"d!zؽ1@òʶ]ymGp 2R+BP{ kT6ZD.+1 YdHI2Uwj:@/ BQz]A}ceoj_8=r<< sJ B'#v.gep;J#k<.QXȹ_Jԛ(\l"BrL븹Q!X](s.)q#nW$;uBmW u)>nT8hFV^45k{ 0{<=ȚN$&Hj(TXSDNvI"^bB #Ă唔aخ bMEJBʽjT=4;w+PQ!Gޣam)mؼs] / <8>i=9$ؘDGɍcANF9@G` ܁|rz.YfW/tԓI߉$#$ 7CߛaD1}|"$hhI,wءj[n%^ 3 ׷0l `c7"eyo"]1={T3+=lbS'|!$Np-E~6BiKAցSZ*/Vږ{v$ܭiؖ' Bͧ@'(YEDpޫDȼ;U\D6]n,O =i0)b2 yD`Nq:eDN pI̦'=Sbl"VrqdsHB'?ՉP^a]rQהz o٠r8 !> ~#F?Vr 7Yf L*?*QUMH-a0|Z^ɱRwygg=)~xNN y IE-)nCW#Mp|Wqpe΢%G?Ffi`IJw_u63 ̘+2hB FxjN*)9o|X3ƀye232'w{!'cX[׍wa 7|5`~ҍ^w@`? 8NՉ(GU9 ;Ye:<+ܳr,SQ `X'ND]f'Gnq6c ^_LBndnQSx4x:ԐU|7JJ^T&G[n}u6x$֤Ц:蛒myhދ=SԨ:#+`buÖׁ`j|/2<(0gg-4r)_6R]6 4`e ["/&SE|gZby:"l&^'!w T;z?&8UY|qᨫXӯbJ),#vv \2osSX|}PdHtSzi)FyDI!xuOi!wW<`P/4] kA& %؈^uP$+213o50.<ͪ5#$LGa~\A~&8q7bLͭ%ϐ8^ e%3[99;(q;&[u8"vFPUTZXv~*$#עc ;EBO:!`ȡۡѻ@]$!T LKgeC$.xo?(ۮ$žz1KFDݞIup"9O: QN i h{ !$8K{7Ϸ/4DaB:߻DHr R}0PeG#\-Q;M(W+r\]xwY jPp(7Q=%&ƑڥUwz߅Ay9ݨ˒ӘUCaAv<uH o16:̏Ļs<ґoR܎"4^ 7yjvq$,f?[`w? iIIJhJ/W8[8WbÙS>]5//Ր8V= Nat δס\p8蓈ء; Iyf 'xNJ&O@Іe,u\S'l oS@/26GIEdCuy.CJ~o"Lr3_".2"'1O I]c;n-ȡ7A>pZFƯpYniWV d5\?̯6}{gF^DOSqཏt[21Q/ӛtRޯJ0BAk6]w(aܧ mQ\eCCnQ Pu}]kYuQj ww^볺b6FرK9Ev<} KVl Tvw2bdRU¨ "ZygAm53 HY&252Ph1W?o_0xGzqhLpjoo r!t 'ݛfv9b~Xp~؀ @M4WLͣbvd@L#J㌗  ?BXtD&` 1gȯ<| Z[D$KUPфe#thF_gBG_ b\y bȘd8̠9#XK+/S']^Ñv:E~! js#@}p0(RQNx >X/lK_pG(Gġv!%{go <4$bXMk@P AMln\D1d }U["tvdeb陏YmʘWᴇ.-$$^W4TZ3q]g5prAtR.Z6jPe͢.-HJu*yk{׊dGr TT^UH+8k0!>pؤ7:2[Ԋ8HPĤ9zBx+ &[G$1G-Ґ>z3wyK_젟&X2@ o:AE'K~nɄ,70WSuU QژƖޑV>`FuOe&:-|Fѩmc71ñ8B޷7 Ezh ɮ~ yU2'NnQ r,AпU{$ lpra` L gS?qм h#9i,W/sw쾯Yiil-^}G>dHq7H<Ŋ|)yY 8½9U&;'}fݓ-Asb.^\r+]wFP]ՠAYu[-eV({UI Ub&PۊPIʇ]Man~F<Xx+\'(d`yE(%AĆxWo]թcU'5bP#6sGe&'P3U]UY* VN5Έ [-,Cc欆_IUI mՇ-b6 hRR5C}ߊǠ%t!Y(XEM^3epK0w.i2fPScD6{3^$E 1PpB49Wϲ`bL|qLsIZ[Vff$!ԯ)Q -{8\sV

#06Eb_krz$=E`* Ta6q|rU˅vI .9]" WhԴ*Pȷx=o-2K@Jiw?daa%mƛ#Z{8y}Z(?Yb hN Ie^~dT>,j4ڞ>R xf}h 5 g.9IumbUPPcA{iv枩DҰ%tݨ%۳`3nI9%[WC峫mI -=Ȭ]pxwڒ -. M@?u h2E܌G^6ӐE`Z561*YPmQ"a`JUId׫;=4oP~$~gac:WQ-y5w~Z~CE=# 0̚_v4+{WcOufIVW'ofWnkt;lɄ1^7o奏(E_nOA7aM#]i)~,dm\PL7M"`A<[ݦץV kn -?InffX_(mݞO\$ DXqk𑅮Bc8^x"TQO\/`Lo:!iY1&LFgX2CM!T.l ~'h MM/!B0V y[4*KHyL)#nI&{ٳi  J(Ua@2Vþo2z,"匵uhk}{&w)=0' Uu98mLV\.qruꆟ>ok۴୉烿8kFS-T,qC;1قVm <lvIy@'ZF] ## ").*2xͭ[uAh?)9,EAեM`4(Fh)keKwCOp]wB,]Пt%Rjڬn]{#9O"~u=P27]Nb7}vV>suv|@Ԯ XrBa6Tׁ?37(۳vVKHr/T wuoxrR|{TZtP.{z{Ʉ{s__5K߮3K:[tu'es#0vn- DqM^ov 6mo_U˼d䒞{v( .TeBvSe]q{f񔡯LHШ@E6iYA>[MfC]s:1TzuZ wO6m5iW N: qj( njhw>V ǀ1|k4zgKKuem`,癹ɻ:$!TDc)sĦMMS"MHtLE>Ukl+VWvMjylBj;Pmˡ YJ4KdiS )8ܼimQ7:-w7.u\1cusϡkU0xXI[@!Z>ϊ3cL캋ߕ~>$([.+'ؐinN,]&b%؀[m^M3qKiAC4\}I@ު,rhUNH7x4u^|$[Puun+4-MUנP օZfP숽Rǿ%R0WE_҆cEiGtFu+ZWƣO|aRV@^@0z/wt &v &(T }GB/jJ0C[2K%R&vMy_Nƴ`&Ӫ"NSށĦLj[e9J#f &J51QGipp"gDݶV3,lVx_x7/|?)Ckxw֤`}ϣT?ȕnwT=m%Q:itmŎEXd>JPbhh>a G3l<%vVq:`Z Pք$Ŕ):~>YHUA湎_ ?{B%2:^Y Ul:)Q[ձ)%]ۊͰR7LDcv@Ӗ=Z-|v?iA`еqٿ(k=? ;#vZ?DCR"bsFLy `ڂFm4HG,[ݽ)^ͅ4WL*&m,4y\u`}'gړHy} Ŕjmr/ gxA| Yk@ZFnܝ$k+ ;%L 34F /s֔?!U$=ѩ$y 1/q+ X(ZvM4OKPCjLO$ω.|<ΎRn

Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1