Where to Start Reading Eloghosa Osunde
For readers new to Eloghosa Osunde's bold, genre-bending storytelling, the absolute best place to start is her spectacular debut novel, Vagabonds! (2022). This book serves as the perfect introduction to her signature style: a rich blend of magical realism, Nigerian Pidgin, and deep social critique. It invites you straight into a surrealist version of Lagos populated by spirits, outcasts, and rebels.
Alternatively, if you want a quicker taste of her prose before committing to a full-length novel, you can start with her award-winning short story "Good Boy" (2021). This story won the prestigious Plimpton Prize for Fiction and was selected for The Best American Short Stories 2021, showcasing her ability to weave intimate, haunting narratives about family and identity.
Eloghosa Osunde Books in Publication Order
Because Eloghosa Osunde's works consist of standalone novels and individual short stories rather than a serialized franchise, the cleanest way to navigate her library is by publication order. Reading her work chronologically by release allows you to watch her voice evolve from shorter, highly focused fiction into sprawling, multi-character epics.
Standalone Novels
- Vagabonds! (2022) – Osunde's debut novel-in-stories, which follows a cast of marginalized characters (the poor, the queer, the displaced) navigating an oppressive Lagos under the watchful eyes of spirits.
- Necessary Fiction (2025) – Her second full-length novel. A sprawling story structured in five parts that follows over two dozen characters across Lagos and Abuja as they navigate family secrets, personal freedoms, and the search for home.
Short Stories and Anthologies
- "And Morning Will Come" (2017/2021) – Written during the Writivism Mentorship Program and longlisted for the 2017 Writivism Short Story Prize, this piece was later published in the collection And Morning Will Come: The 2017 Writivism Anthology in 2021.
- "Good Boy" (2021) – Her breakout short story, published in The Paris Review and anthologized in The Best American Short Stories 2021.
Chronological Caveats and Universe Continuity
Readers should note that there is no narrative continuity between Vagabonds! and Necessary Fiction. They do not share characters or plotlines, meaning you can read them in any order without spoiling the events of either book. However, they are thematic siblings. Both works dive deep into the lives of contemporary Nigerians who exist on the margins of society, fighting for their right to exist and love freely.
While Vagabonds! relies heavily on a mythical, spirit-led framework to structure its narrative, Necessary Fiction expands the scope into a massive, multi-perspective family drama. Reading Vagabonds! first is highly recommended because it helps you adapt to Osunde's unique pacing and linguistic style before tackling the much larger cast of characters in her second novel.
What to Know Before You Start
Before diving into Eloghosa Osunde's writing, there are a few stylistic elements that are helpful to understand:
- Naija English and Pidgin: Osunde writes in an unapologetically Nigerian voice. Her dialogue and narration frequently blend standard English with Naija English and pidgin. She does not include a glossary, allowing the language to flow naturally. Readers unfamiliar with the dialects can easily grasp the meaning through contextual clues.
- Magical Realism and Surrealism: Osunde is a multidisciplinary visual artist and filmmaker, and this visual flair translates directly into her prose. Expect time to bend, cities to speak as physical characters, and spirits to interfere in the lives of mortals.
- Heavy Themes: Her work is celebrated for its protective, loving portrayal of queer life in Nigeria, but it also directly confronts the realities of homophobia, capitalism, class divide, corruption, and systemic oppression.