Necessary Fiction

De: Eloghosa Osunde

‘Necessary Fiction's Nigerians are inseparable from Nigeria itself: brazen, willful, sexy, dynamic, explosive’ MARLON JAMES

‘A vital work for our times’ IRENOSEN OKOJIE

'A homage to the chosen family who accept you as you are' DEAN ATTA

'Necessary Fiction lives up to its title and beyond … a vivid, stirring revolution' YRSA DALEY-WARD

What makes a family? How is it defined and by whom? Is freedom for everyone?

Across Lagos, a rolling cast of unforgettable characters seek out love in all its forms, daring to push all other relationships – with partners, family and friends – to the brink in the process. As they form and break unexpected connections, they reveal how they know each other, have loved each other and had their hearts broken in that pursuit.

Stubbornly alive and brazenly flawed, they work to establish themselves in the city’s worlds of art, music, entertainment and creativity while reckoning with desire, fear, death and God. Here, we witness their collective and individual attempts to grapple with the necessary fictions that they all carry for survival.

This is a shimmering, defiant cross-generational portrait of what it means to be queer in contemporary Nigeria.

‘A gorgeously deeply humane book, which is indeed, necessary’ NICOLE DENNIS-BENN

‘The ink practically hovers off the page’ KAVEH AKBAR

‘I’m in awe of Osunde’s writing’ CALEB AZUMAH NELSON

'Osunde’s writing shines … It’s not just beautiful – it’s transformative’ BASSEY IKPI

©2025 Eloghosa Osunde (P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers