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A review by laurareads87
Vagabonds! by Eloghosa Osunde
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
4.5. I am so glad that JesseOnYoutube chose this as a group read for Blackathon2024 as I may never have found this text at all otherwise. I don’t know what I expected when I picked up Vagabonds! It wasn’t this, but the way Osunde captures the spirit of Lagos is extraordinary; this feels like more of a collection of very slightly intertwined short stories than a novel, but the connecting thread to all of it is Lagos itself, and particularly queer experiences of Lagos. It was a little bit inconsistent, but Osunde's writing held my attention throughout and some sections I found very emotionally impactful.
I found Osunde’s descriptions – particularly of queer pain and joy, of exclusion, of internalized queerphobia – deeply impactful and deeply true, and found myself highlighting frequently. I will absolutely pick up Osunde’s next book.
<i>Content warnings:</i> violence, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, domestic abuse, forcible confinement, sexual assault, suicide, murder, death, grief
I found Osunde’s descriptions – particularly of queer pain and joy, of exclusion, of internalized queerphobia – deeply impactful and deeply true, and found myself highlighting frequently. I will absolutely pick up Osunde’s next book.
<i>Content warnings:</i> violence, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, domestic abuse, forcible confinement, sexual assault, suicide, murder, death, grief
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, and Murder