The Tiny Things Are Heavier

Okonkwo debuts with a competent campus novel about immigration and love. Sommy is a Nigerian graduate student from Lagos studying English literature in Iowa. When her roommate, Bayo, invites her to a gathering of Black graduate students, she meets future friends Kayla and Nia, as well as future love interest Bryan. Meanwhile, her brother Mezie, who recently tried to kill himself, won’t return her calls. As the semester progresses, Sommy grapples with loneliness and feeling homesick until she begins a casual affair with Bayo. When she begins simultaneously dating Bryan, her secret love triangle threatens to upend her new American life. Bryan accompanies her to Nigeria to find his birth father, where tensions boil over during an argument in the car between the couple and Mezie, who is driving, and who accidentally hits a pedestrian. Though Okonkwo’s writing can be pedantic and simplistic, the novel offers a well-rounded depiction of the difficulties faced by a young woman torn in opposing directions. Describing the attraction between Sommy and Bryan, Okonkwo writes, “He is intrigued by her stories about Nigeria. He likes her tales about Lagos, the people, the traffic, the hustle and bustle. It’s the opposite of the quiet suburbs of Illinois, where he’d grown up.” It’s a solid coming-of-age story. (June)