VOGUE MAGAZINE BEST BOOKS OF 2025 A HARPER' S BAZAAR BEST 2025 BEACH READ PICK A FORBES
MUST-READ BOOK FOR SUMMER 2025 ' A gracefully told and sharply observed debut' KILEY
REID ' Such a sincere blast to read' KAVEH AKBAR The Tiny Things Are Heavier
follows Sommy a Nigerian woman who comes to the United States for graduate school two weeks
after her brother Mezie attempts suicide. Plagued by the guilt of leaving Mezie behind Sommy
struggles to fit into her new life as a student and an immigrant. Lonely and homesick Sommy
soon enters a complicated relationship with her boisterous Nigerian roommate Bayo a
relationship that plummets into deceit when Sommy falls for Bryan a biracial American whose
estranged Nigerian father left the States immediately after his birth. Bonded by their feelings
of unbelonging and a vague sense of kinship Sommy and Bryan transcend the challenges of their
new relationship. During summer break Sommy and Bryan visit the bustling city of Lagos
Nigeria where Sommy hopes to reconcile with Mezie and Bryan plans to connect with his father.
But when a shocking and unexpected event throws their lives into disarray it exposes the
cracks in Sommy' s relationships and forces her to confront her notions of self and familial
love. A daring and ambitious novel rendered in stirring tender prose The Tiny Things Are
Heavier is a captivating portrait that explores the hardships of migration the subtleties of
Nigeria' s class system and how far we' ll go to protect those we love.
