Little Rot

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No, you don’t have to buy the ebook to participate, but we do recommend it to get the most out of your club. There are several premium social reading features that are only available when you buy the ebook, like annotations, reactions, comment threads, resources, discussion prompts, and more, all embedded right in the text. It’s a unique and immersive way to read.

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The first step is to download the Fable app. From there, you’ll be able to create your own private or public book club and invite others to read with you. Once your club is created, click on the plus sign under “Currently reading” and search for this book to add it to your club.

By Akwaeke Emezi

Publisher Description

“A masterwork…mesmerizing…We come away troubled, unsettled — and in some subtle way changed.”–The New York Times

"The perfect steamy read for those hot summer nights." –People

A thrilling new novel from the bestselling, award-winning, visionary Akwaeke Emezi

One weekend.
The elite underbelly of a Nigerian city.
A party that goes awry.
A tangled web of sex and lies and corruption that leaves no one unscathed.

Aima and Kalu are a longtime couple who have just split. When Kalu, reeling from the breakup, visits an exclusive sex party hosted by his best friend, Ahmed, he makes a decision that will plunge them all into chaos, brutally and suddenly upending their lives. Ola and Souraya, two Nigerian sex workers visiting from Kuala Lumpur, collide into the scene just as everything goes to hell. Sucked into the city’s corrupt and glittering underworld, they’re all looking for a way out, fueled by a desperate need to escape the dangerous threat that looms over them.

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81 Reviews

3.5

Alex the Violist

Created 1 day ago

“All the content warnings for this, seriously! I haven’t read Emezi’s other works, and to be honest I’m a little anxious to check them out if their other books make the reader feel as grimed-up as this one does. Another review mentioned this story having a real “ensemble cast” and I’d agree: every character in this story offers something different that contributes to the overall narrative, which has the added perk of helping the shifting perspectives read relatively comprehensible. So much of this story centers around “rot,” which I’m taking to mostly refer to what happens to us as we try to survive with the weight of the consequences of our actions (or those forced on us). Secrets we keep, mutually felt truths that are also mutually locked away due to the pain they’d wreak on us should they be out in reality (which itself can become the fantasy we escape to as the rot worsens). How one lives with (or in spite of) the “rot” is very much at the core of each character. One’s past is always a part of their present, affecting our judgments that shape our futures. If you have a book club that is willing to handle the tar that this book has you wade through, give this one a shot.”

Diverse charactersDescriptive writingAddictiveSuspensefulDark settingDarkHeartbreakingAbuseSexual assaultViolence

nay

Created 2 days ago

“this was a ride!!!!!! this book was my introduction to akwaeke. and despite this being the most unhinged book I’ve ever read, her pen is amazing! my mind is blown by everything that transpired over the span of 2 days.”

Beautifully writtenAddictiveSuspensefulTwistyDark settingDark

NikkaTray ☕️📚✨

Created 4 days ago

lwordsmith

Created 5 days ago

Multi-layered charactersDescriptive writingTwistyUnpredictableImmersive settingRealistic settingDarkHeartbreakingSexual assaultViolence

LiterapyNYC

Created 5 days ago

“As a therapist specializing in bibliotherapy, I see “Little Rot” as more than a story—it’s a mirror reflecting our darkest emotions, forcing us to confront uncomfortable truths. Emezi’s masterful storytelling captures our hearts from the start, leading us through a maze of moral dilemmas and raw vulnerability. This book is a journey toward emotional catharsis, ready or not 😫, offering pages to explore deep fears and emotions. These characters are confronted by outside threats and more than this, inner conflict. As readers, we endure this inner turmoil, too. One of my favorite quotes: “Why did it hurt? Because he’s seen her at her lowest and she wanted a chance to see him vulnerable for once? It was exhausting feeling this raw, running away from the memories.” Get ready to be emotionally invested and challenged- this book is not for everyone. “Little Rot” is a must-read for anyone ready to face the shadows within and around.”

Diverse charactersMulti-layered charactersBeautifully writtenOriginal writingFast-pacedUnpredictableDark settingHeartbreakingAbuseSexual assault

About Akwaeke Emezi

Akwaeke Emezi (they/them) is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Death of Vivek Oji, which was a finalist for the Dylan Thomas Prize, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award; Pet, a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, a Walter Honor Book, and a Stonewall Honor Book; Freshwater, which was named a New York Times Notable Book and short-listed for the PEN/Hemingway Award, the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, the Lambda Literary Award, and the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize; Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir, which won the 2022 ALA Stonewall Book Award–Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award; and most recently, Content Warning: Everything, their debut poetry collection; Bitter, their second young adult novel; and You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty, their debut romance novel. Selected as a 5 Under 35 honoree by the National Book Foundation and featured on the cover of Time as a Next Generation Leader, they are based in liminal spaces.