While The World Slept

"Ewa Gerald writes with tenderness and a profound grasp of what it means to be human. This collection is a brilliant debut from a writer everyone should watch out for." --Hussani Abdulrahim. In this collection of ten poignant short stories set in Nigeria, Ewa Gerald Onyebuchi delves into the complexities of identity, community and social justice, offering a profound exploration of personal and social struggles.In "Ofure," a young man-driven by a recurring dream-embarks on a journey to his hometown where, in a gnawing sense of hope, he believes he would meet with his friend and lover, alive and well. And finally, reconnect with memory and the fissures in his past. In "A Mother's Love," a woman's life is redefined when her abusive husband dies. Instead of relief, she feels slightly stalled as she struggles to fully adjust to this new loss and to understand her son's nonchalance, to gauge his grief and his reason for being distant. In "What's The Essence of Beauty," a man renounces the priesthood after many years and returns to the place of his birth, where he must surmount his fears and finally come out to his mother. With unflinching honesty, these stories tackle love and self-discovery, shedding light on the struggles of women and queer people to be recognized in a society that seeks to muffle their voices.