A tender, yet powerful story, poetic and wise. Ibeh draws such beautiful characters, and through their eyes, teaches us that love cannot be beaten or threatened from the human heart. From the first chapter, this book won't let you go. -- AJ West
Wow – what a debut! I was left feeling heartbroken yet hopeful. Chukwuebuka Ibeh is a beautiful writer. -- Taylor-Dior Rumble, author of THE SITUATIONSHIP
Blessings is as raw and heart-wrenching as it is beautiful and delicate. A masterfully executed story about love, faith and sexuality that clenches your heart and doesn’t let go until the very last page. Ibeh is a once in a lifetime talent! -- Elvin James Mensah
A moving debut about love and loneliness -- Sunday Times
As engaging as doorstoppers can be, there is an unparalleled pleasure in something short and searing. Chukwuebuka Ibeh’s debut is set in modern-day Nigeria, where the country’s criminalisation of same-sex marriage has created a hostile atmosphere for the LGBTQ+ population. After an intimate moment with the family apprentice, Obiefuna is sent to a Christian boarding school by his father. So begins a process of self-discovery. Blessings is told from Obiefuna and his mother’s perspective, a dynamic which has plenty of potential for the profound. * Esquire, The Biggest Books Landing on Your Reading List in 2024 *
Wonderful, vivid -- Patrick Gale
Chukwuebuka Ibeh's writing has a certain delicacy to it, so wonderfully observant, and so beautiful -- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Both a brutal and tender coming-of-age story, marking Ibeh as a major new literary voice. * The i *
A magnificent debut novel... Ibeh has the ability to ensure his political positions inform, rather than overwhelm, the intimate dramas at the heart of his fiction. He’s vocal about the writers he admires – among them, Buchi Emecheta, Jhumpa Lahiri, Zadie Smith and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – and clearly ambitious. With writing this good, it’s to be hoped he’ll soon find his name among their ranks. * Telegraph *
