An almost-blind mother pawns her daughter off to save her. A grieving son must bury his Muslim father in twenty-four hours in the thick of winter. Domi(natrix) wants to give life to her sexual kinks in her repressive household. The weight of the word “slave” is put to the test during a first date in conservative Idaho. A doctor battles to save her partner from himself. Desperation makes a young businesswoman seek out a spiritual experience. Two men kidnap a White man to fight the infiltration of oil companies in Southern Nigeria. A boy escapes his bipolar mother.
LAGOS WILL BE HARD FOR YOU is a contemporary collection of short stories, set between Nigeria and the US, which explores the constant straddling of two worlds: the need to make sense of home, and the weight of being lost and out of place in a new world. These stories are an excavation of what it means to be at the labyrinthine crossroads of desire, ambition, and tradition.
“The traditional short story form is difficult to master, but Ayotola Tehingbola writes with steady hands, a master’s voice and a surprisingly unrivalled energy. Her words are blunt, her voice melancholic yet nostalgic, and her characters full of alchemy.” Obinna Udenwe, author of The Widow Who Died with Flowers in Her Mouth
"Primal, provocative, and poetic: Ayotola's stories are unapologetically confronting and superbly crafted!" Chioma Okereke, author of Water Baby
“An eclectic collection of masterfully crafted stories.” Adesuwa O’Man Nwokedi, author of No Perfect Love
“It is only in private that tenderness can bloom, and here Tehingbola’s gift for vivid, intimate dialogue shines, alongside an attention to the richness of each minute physical gesture—when desire is sublimated, every touch becomes simultaneously hallowed and treacherous.” CRAFT LITERARY