'Chukwuebuka Ibeh's writing has a certain delicacy to it, so wonderfully observant, and so beautiful' Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

'A sublime coming-of-age tale… an extraordinarily composed and deeply felt debut' Guardian

When Obiefuna's father witnesses an intimate moment between his teenage son and the family's apprentice, newly arrived from the nearby village, he banishes Obiefuna to a Christian boarding school marked by strict hierarchy and routine, devastating violence. Utterly alienated from the people he loves, Obiefuna begins a journey of self-discovery and blossoming desire, while his mother Uzoamaka grapples to hold onto her favourite son, her truest friend.

Interweaving the perspectives of Obiefuna and his mother Uzoamaka, as they reach towards a future that will hold them both, BLESSINGS is an elegant and exquisitely moving story of love and loneliness. Asking how we can live freely when politics reaches into our hearts and lives, as well as deep into our consciousness, it is a stunning, searing debut.

'A moving debut about love and loneliness' Sunday Times

'Marks the arrival of Chukwuebuka Ibeh as a significant new moral, literary talent' The i

'Wonderful, vivid' Patrick Gale

'A magnificent debut' Daily Telegraph

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 WILBUR SMITH ADVENTURE WRITING PRIZE

"A sublime coming-of-age tale… an extraordinarily composed and deeply felt debut" - Guardian

"Stark yet tender, balancing episodes of hope with episodes of gut-plummeting sadness, this is an accomplished novel, distinguished by sensitive prose and taut scene-making" - Daily Mail

"A magnificent debut… Ibeh has the ability to ensure his political positions inform, rather than overwhelm, the intimate dramas at the heart of his fiction. He’s vocal about the writers he admires – among them, Buchi Emecheta, Jhumpa Lahiri, Zadie Smith and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – and clearly ambitious. With writing this good, it’s to be hoped he’ll soon find his name among their ranks" - Daily Telegraph

"Blessings is the poignant tale of a talented and sensitive Nigerian boy, Obiefuna, who is caught by his conservative father in a clinch with another young gay man... an emotive, affecting debut " - Observer

"Blessings, the debut novel by the Nigerian author Chukwuebuka Ibeh, who was born in 2000, is a devastating account of a young queer man’s most formative years. Tender and enraging, it is a story about the brutality of Nigerian law, under which homosexuality remains illegal today. It is also a story about adolescent desire and the personal yet universal trickiness of working out who and how we are, and what we want. It marks the arrival of Chukwuebuka Ibeh as a significant new moral, literary talent" - The i

"As engaging as doorstoppers can be, there is an unparalleled pleasure in something short and searing. Chukwuebuka Ibeh’s debut is set in modern-day Nigeria, where the country’s criminalisation of same-sex marriage has created a hostile atmosphere for the LGBTQ+ population. After an intimate moment with the family apprentice, Obiefuna is sent to a Christian boarding school by his father. So begins a process of self-discovery. Blessings is told from Obiefuna and his mother’s perspective, a dynamic which has plenty of potential for the profound." - Esquire, The Biggest Books Landing on Your Reading List in 2024

"Both a brutal and tender coming-of-age story, marking Ibeh as a major new literary voice." - The i