THE TINY THINGS ARE HEAVIER

276pp., paperback, Manilla Press, London, 2025

ISBN: 9781786586919

A coming-of-age novel that explores the hardships of migration, the subtleties of Nigeria's class system, and notions of self-love and familial love.

Sommy, a young Nigerian woman, travels to Iowa, USA, to attend graduate school and struggles to fit into her new life as a student and an immigrant.

“A gracefully told and sharply observed debut. Okonkwo has produced a beautiful study and story of what we owe to our families, friends, lovers, and ourselves. Complex characters, wild intimacy . . . this one doesn't shy away from the truth of devastation.” Kiley Reid, author of Such a Fun Age and Come and Get It

“An expansive first novel about a woman searching for home, love, and belonging ... Okonkwo asks her readers to reflect upon class, privilege, race, gender, and their interlocking power structures, as well as the importance of place to one's sense of self.” Shelf Awareness

Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo is Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. She received an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a PhD from Florida State University. Her fiction has appeared in Isele Magazine, Guernica and Catapult. She's a recipient of a 2021 Elizabeth George Foundation Grant. Home for her is Lagos, Nigeria. She lives in Detroit, Michigan.