Necessary Fiction

From the acclaimed author of Vagabonds!: an audacious and eye-opening exploration of cross-generational queer life in contemporary Nigeria.

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

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

‘The ink practically hovers off the page’ KAVEH AKBAR

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

Across Lagos, Osunde’s characters seek out love for self and their chosen partners, even as they risk ruining relationships with parents, spouses, family and friends. A rolling cast emerges: vibrantly active, stubbornly alive, brazenly flawed. These characters grapple with desire, fear, time, death, and God, forming and breaking unexpected connections; in the process unveiling how they know each other, have loved each other and had their hearts broken in that pursuit.

As they work to establish themselves in the city's worlds of art, music, entertainment and creative commerce, we meet their collective and individual attempts to reckon with the necessary fiction they carry for survival.

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

‘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 Fourth Estate (Audiobook): 9780008708641

Release date

Audiobook: July 31, 2025