Cover Image: Vagabonds!

Vagabonds!

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Member Reviews

“All oppression is linked, shey you know? So tonight, we’re going to dance like vagabonds.”

Well, this is a rare treat. We have a genuinely fresh and electric new voice on the block in Eloghosa Osunde who, in this – her debut, gives us the lives of those who live in the margins of Lagos writ large in neon flashing lights.

This is exciting stuff. Vagabonds! reads like a collection of short stories, insights in to lives (both public and private) that weave together to showcase love, lust and corruption across the divides of society in the Nigerian capital. Whether it’s debauched politicians, layby gay lovers, grave-diggers, or sex work parties, Eloghosa reveals them in the most mercurial way.

The language is rich in Nigerian patois and Lagos slang, and the air of the city is thick with malevolent spirits and witchcraft. Human frailties are manipulated by devils and ghosts. It’s all very clever (though does need some patience from readers who may find this all very new) and rewarding. The industry talks so frequently about new voices but this finally feels like one. Plot and structure are unorthodox and some parts of the book feel more reflective and slower paced than others but this is one that rewards those who finish it. There is certainly a surreal, almost dreamlike sense to the writing and we steer almost effortlessly through magical realism as well as reality itself.

“Nothing is illegal for a rich Nigerian.”

Queer lives are central in this book – banned and vilified in public but lived so passionately behind closed doors – and it is thrilling to witness the love, strength, and rebellion in each of the scenes Eloghosa brings to us. It is worth noting that there are scenes of terrible misogynistic violence and murder though and that’s worth bearing in mind if these areas are not for you. But what a revelation and I cannot wait to hear more. Never before has Lagos been revealed as brutally and as beautifully as this.

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Vagabonds was unlike anything I've ever read! I feel it really tapped into the visceral, chaotic nature of Lagos and Nigeria as a whole. As a Nigerian, it was easy for me to follow and understand the lore. I feel it would be a good challenge for other readers. I connected more with some stories and characters over others, but overall I really enjoyed the style, pace and nature of the book.

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"Vagabonds" by Eloghosa Osunde is a complex novel that explores Nigerian spirituality, queer representation, and the lives of those who are often marginalized in society. I found the style difficult to follow, and I struggled to keep track of the numerous characters and connect with them. However, some of the characters were very interesting.
The novel highlights the lives of those who are often invisible in society, including queer individuals, the poor, the displaced, and rogue spirits, as they navigate danger and resistance in their quest for true lives. Blending realism with myth and fantasy, "Vagabonds" is a vivid work of imagination that takes readers deep inside the hearts, minds, and bodies of different people. Overall, the novel is a powerful and brave exploration of identity, belonging, and the human experience, but can be quite a struggling reading experience at times.

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A strange, fascinating, fresh collection of stories exploring the diverse underbelly of Lagos. Dream-like, striking and insightful. Unlike anything else I've read in years.

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“There are simple and good and straightforward and well-behaved people, I'm sure.
But this is not a book about them.”
I jumped straight into reading this book without knowing anything about it, and was instantly lost with no idea what was going on. I persevered to give the book time to get into its swing, but was still floundering, so I decided to see what other readers have said about the book. People who have enjoyed it say it is more like a series of short stories, with very little connection between one chapter and the next. I decided to read the book as a collection of stories, jumping on to the next chapter when I found I was drowning in Eloghosa Osunde’s words. Taken as a collection of short stories, there are tales, opinion pieces, reportage and some very poetic pieces of prose. Not understanding all of the words in the tales didn’t bother me, if I were to submerse myself in the streets of Lagos, not understanding everything that was being said around me would not diminish my enjoyment of the place. It is the same with this book. After skipping through, reading “the easy bits” I feel I have a better understanding of Osunde’s style, and can now go back and get more out of this book.
It’s not an easy read, but a bit of hard work will make it a rewarding read.

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Vagabonds! is a collection of short stories that explore the bustling city of Lagos with an in-depth look into the lives of people within different socioeconomic classes. With Tatafo (basically what we call people who either cannot keep a secret or always seem to know what is going on around them) as our guide, we get to see not just the spirituality of Lagos (embodied in this story as Èkó; which is the Yoruba name of Lagos); but also the empowered but disenfranchised youth; the powerful who use their power to oppress and disenfranchise; and the unrecognised (the queer, the sex workers; the orphans).
I loved how Eloghosa was able to present a microscopic view of each precious life that is beaten down and oppressed by the corruption and insidious nature of Nigeria capitalism and spirituality.

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There were some interesting insights into the hidden under-belly of Lagos and some moving stories but I found it hard to maintain focus and find a coherent whole.

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VAGABONDS! is a novel of intertwined short stories that center the lives of vagabonds in Nigeria. The Nigerian definition of vagabonds references language codified into law that punishes the queer, trans, poor and sex workers.

I really enjoyed this one, the prose was so lyrical and really flowed. The stories were moving and, at times, read almost like a collection of folk lores and twisted fairy tales. I switched between physical and audio for this one and the audio definitely enhanced my experience.

This is also definitely one that I will be rereading as there is so much going on and so much to unearth in the prose that I'm sure I missed some of the nuance which I look forward to finding in a second read.

Thank you @4thestatebooks for my review copy.

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The multiple narratives were well-written and the few overlaps very interesting, and I loved theme of forbidden living in Nigeria. However, somehow this book felt like it needed to be tighter and a little more focused.

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a case of it wasn't you it was me. I wanted to adore Vagabonds but the sporadic nature of the stories felt more like a collection than a novel to me, and because of the disparate nature of the different themes I was never able to settle into the characters or a narrative.

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A weird, impressive whirlwind of a book about 'vagabonds' - mostly queer women - living under the radar in a magical realist Lagos. Much of the book is brilliant, fresh and lively and beautifully told, but a few chapters - and most of the denouement - are flattened through trying to be too instructional/overt.

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This book is a wild ride through the underside of Lagos, the one-time capital of Nigeria, with vaguely interconnected stories told through a number of shifting characters who are themselves seen through the ‘eye’ of the city and its spirit, Eko.

The context for the action is the 2014 Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act – an appalling piece of legislation in the 21st-century that prohibits a whole range of behaviours which would be quite normal in any other major city. Driving these ‘non-normal’ relationships underground is additionally bizarre in Nigeria with its long history of criminal gangs, corrupt politicians and financial fraud at every level of society. Worse still, ‘normal’ heterosexual, married relationships in the country are frequently anything but normal being rooted in misogyny, brutality and sometimes witchcraft. It’s not a good place to be a woman and not much better if you are a man.

So, the characters in this novel live concealed lives or flourish in safe corners of the underground and, here, the city helps them with a kind of sliding version of reality, aided and abetted by spirits, curses and whatever, then additionally fuelled by drugs and alcohol.

The stories are loosely connected and were originally published at different times but this is much more than just a collection of short stories and it draws you in to the lives of the characters. The description is vivid, colourful and crackling with spirit.

Some of the characters stay with you, including Johnny who learns, literally, to keep his mouth shut and finally closes it forever. There is also Wura Blackson, dressmaker and confidante of the rich and famous.

It’s an entertaining novel and optimistic in terms of the capacity of the human spirit not just to survive but to thrive in times of oppression.

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A beautiful collection of Nigerian stories exploring the 'outsiders' in society. This book is like nothing I have ever read before. The writing style is very poetic and took me a while to get used to so I decided to also grab the audiobook which was incredible and completely immersed me into the rhythm of the language, I became thoroughly absorbed in the vivid city of Lagos. Told through slight interconnecting stories, it highlights marginalised and underrepresented people, particularly those who are queer, poor, young and generally taken advantage of in a capitalist and corrupt Nigeria.

The heart of the story is about money (Owo) and how much it impacts living in Lagos (Èkó), the violence and control it has over people both those with and without it. It’s incredibly thought provoking, beautifully written as it wonderfully explores identity and the solemnity of being an outsider. As is the case with short story collections, some I liked more than others. My favourites stories were, Tatafo (Democrazy!), Rain, Overheard: Fairygodgirls and After God, Fear Women but I definitely want to go back and reread them all again.

If you want to discover Nigeria through a lens you've likely never read before, pick up this book!

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Time passes. Gods control and are controlled. People suffer. This is a story of Nigeria; a story of its cities. It is a story of its people; especially its queer and marginalised. It's a satire of corruption. It's a poem of a nation and a love story to its vagabonds. (People who suffer under Nigeria's anti-gay legislation).

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I really loved some of the stories in Vagabonds but it they didn't quite coalesce into a whole for me. It was a bit too dreamlike in places and I found I couldn't remember which characters were which when they reappeared. I'm glad to have read it though and would definitely look out for more short fiction by the author.

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This is one of those loose limbed short story collections, which occasionally loops back on itself and has a central spine around being about Lagos, Nigeria. Its aim is to paint a picture of a vibrant city, to tie in folklore, the living and the dead, the current atmosphere and magical realism to try to build a loving if critical portrait of the fastest growing city in Africa - a City Symphony to borrow the term from silent cinema. A pre-pandemic picture perhaps (not that pandemics bother cities like Lagos in the scheme of things, there are plenty of daily health catastrophes to take care of), which takes a city as part of its world, though Eloghosa Osunde does have particular themes she returns to - in particular death and queerness which mark this as a very individual work.

As part of the many, sharp, introductions to Vagabonds! Osunde both defines her subjects and her object, the city that is "na Lagos - Èkó". Èkó is the spirit of the city, the gossip, the half-truths, the hypocrite. ANd whilst I am not sure she believes in an upstand and respectable side of Lagos, she certainly is interested in the Vagabonds! This is a book with an exclaimation mark in its title, and Vagabonds both shares its usual meaning with a particualrly Nigerian meaning - of both cross-dressing and latterly those who may commit gross indecency, or in this case acts which are against the law but everyone knows happens. We dip in and out of these kinds of situations, well born girls who would rather live normally than happily, sex workers and dancers in secret clubs with in clubs for wealthy women. Particularly in the back half of the book this becomes not just a celebration of the city, but of how gay it is if you choose to see it. Whilst she doesn't shy aware from the potential consequences of queerness, she also makes a parallel early on to everyone and everything bending and breaking the law constantly. Who is going to be scared of that law in particular? The police - who do not turn up much here (not the kind of Vagabonds we are after) are seen to be as performative as everything else, laws bend and break mainly to line a pocket rather than to follow the path of good.

There is lots of magical realism going on here as well around death, both what happens and how spirits may continue to haunt the city. Some of this death is actual, some is figurative - those shunned by family are as dead as the ghosts trying to work out how to haunt the city. This is not an unusual tactic when talking about cities - places build up memories which are ghostly, though Osunde is good at using the local folklore whilst explaining it to outsiders. In other places she is gung ho - spoken language isn't quite pidgin, but is written with a local flavour - as she does when talking from Èkó or Tatafo's perspective.

Its clear that Vagabonds! started life as a number of short stories, and whilst a pretty good job has been done to corral them into the shaggy shape the Èkó requires, the quality and interest will vary between them. But there is a strong central voice through the heart of it, along with a vibrant sense of humour that makes the whole thing sing. And it succeeds at doing what it sets out to do - it conjures up a skeleton of the city, dancing, fleshy bit where needed, not respectable, but full of the mischief of trying to wring some joy out of getting by.

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Virtually impossible to describe this book. Chaotic, strange yes but also thought provoking, intelligent and powerful. The language takes a bit of getting used to but it would definitely not have the same power if written in "standard English". Set in Nigeria, a country I have heard a lot about, mostly negative the book tells you so much more about the country and its people. Fascinating read and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Stick with the language, it sounds strange at first but it makes the book. Several lines in the book really resonated with me and I am from a completely different culture and background. Just shows how mighty is the written word

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i really wanted to love this but i found the storytelling a bit messy. there were some good ideas and themes but the execution was rather clumsy. still i'd recommend this to others as ymmv.

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I absolutely loved the writing. It was so deeply Nigerian, more specifically Lagosian, a melting pot of cultural lingo. It uses Nigerian lingo, from popular TV shows, social media and political propaganda. I honestly felt like I was 'gisting' with my friend as I read this book. The writing was so easy for me to fall into.
Vagabonds! is a collection of short stories that explore the bustling city of Lagos with an in-depth look into the lives of people within different socioeconomic classes. With Tatafo (basically what we call people who either cannot keep a secret or always seem to know what is going on around them) as our guide, we get to see not just the spirituality of Lagos (embodied in this story as Èkó; which is the Yoruba name of Lagos); but also the empowered but disenfranchised youth; the powerful who use their power to oppress and disenfranchise; and the unrecognised (the queer, the sex workers; the orphans).
I loved how Eloghosa was able to present a microscopic view of each precious life that is beaten down and oppressed by the corruption and insidious nature of Nigeria capitalism and spirituality.

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I really enjoyed this once I got into the rhythm of the authors writing. Interesting and insightful and I would love to read more from this author.

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