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Black Sunday: A Novel Hardcover – February 4, 2020

by Tola Rotimi Abraham (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars 211 ratings
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This fiercely original debut novel follows four Nigerian siblings over the course of two decades as they search for agency, love, and meaning in a society rife with hypocrisy.

“. . . lush, sharp, and shot through with hope!" —Well-Read Black Girl

I like the idea of a god who knows what it’s like to be a twin. To have no memory of ever being alone.

Twin sisters Bibike and Ariyike are enjoying a relatively comfortable life in Lagos in 1996. Then their mother loses her job due to political strife, and the family, facing poverty, becomes drawn into the New Church, an institution led by a charismatic pastor who is not shy about worshipping earthly wealth.

Soon Bibike and Ariyike’s father wagers the family home on a “sure bet” that evaporates like smoke. As their parents’ marriage collapses in the aftermath of this gamble, the twin sisters and their two younger siblings, Andrew and Peter, are thrust into the reluctant care of their traditional Yoruba grandmother. Inseparable while they had their parents to care for them, the twins’ paths diverge once the household shatters. Each girl is left to locate, guard, and hone her own fragile source of power.

Written with astonishing intimacy and wry attention to the fickleness of fate, Tola Rotimi Abraham’s Black Sunday takes us into the chaotic heart of family life, tracing a line from the euphoria of kinship to the devastation of estrangement. In the process, it joyfully tells a tale of grace and connection in the midst of daily oppression and the constant incursions of an unremitting patriarchy. This is a novel about two young women slowly finding, over twenty years, in a place rife with hypocrisy but also endless life and love, their own distinct methods of resistance and paths to independence.
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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Catapult
  4. Publication date
    February 4, 2020
  5. Dimensions
    5.8 x 0.95 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1948226561
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1948226561
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From the Publisher

kirkus

Am Jo Burns cinderland

Margaret Wilkerson Sexton Revisioners

Editorial Reviews

Review

Black Sunday is a 2020 Kirkus Prize finalist

"I am left reeling and in awe."
—Sarah Jessica Parker

"Tola Rotimi Abraham's Black Sunday will destroy you. It won't be an explosion or any other ultraviolent thing. Instead, the novel will inflict a thousand tiny cuts on you, and your soul will slowly pour from them . . . Abraham creates believable characters whose stories could easily have come from real life [that] makes them simultaneously unique and universal, and it makes it easy to understand the way they see the world, even if their lens is ugly . . . Black Sunday is a literary wound that bleeds pain for a while, but you should stay the course, because that's followed by lots of love, beauty, and hope."
—Gabino Iglesias, NPR

"A searing debut novel about Nigerian twin sisters whose childhood bond is shattered by the political and social strife that impoverishes their family . . . Abraham explores deeply felt themes of violence, kinship, and self-reliance."
—Adrienne Westenfeld, Esquire

"Arresting . . . Abraham writes with a fluid yet deliberate moral compass . . . gripping . . . Exploring themes that delve into the power of storytelling, the fragility of identity, the nature of regret, and the power of redemption, Abraham writes with a grace and sophistication that belie this novel’s debut status. Hers is a voice and a vision to be recognized and watched."
—Carol Haggas, Another Chicago Magazine

"Set in Lagos over a period of decades, this absorbing debut follows twin sisters Bibike and Ariyike from the inseparable bonds of relative comfort to the challenges and independence of poverty."
—Karla Strand, Ms.

"This may be her first book, but Tola Abraham's storytelling power is immediately apparent—lush, sharp, and shot through with hope!"
—Well-Read Black Girl

"An elegant and exciting debut, exquisitely beautiful and painful in equal measure . . . Filled with poetic, vibrant prose and rooted in Nigerian culture, Abraham allows us a glimpse at four lives as they diverge from a single traumatic moment. It’s devastating, in its quiet way, but it’s also funny and sweet and occasionally quite profound."
—Jodie Sloan, The AU Review

"Abraham’s fierce debut follows four Nigerian siblings living in Lagos from childhood in 1996 through early adulthood in 2015 . . . The novel’s strength lies in its lush, unflinching scenes, as when a seemingly simple infection leads gradually but inexorably to a life-threatening condition, revealing the dynamics of the family and community along the way. Abraham mightily captures a sense of the stresses of daily life in a family, city, and culture that always seems on the edge of self-destruction."
—Publishers Weekly

"[A] piercing, supple debut . . . Abraham stuffs her novel past brimming, but its sophisticated structure and propulsive narration allow her to tuck in a biting critique of corrupt colonial religion and universally exploitative men . . . Twin sisters cut adrift in a perilous, duplicitous world learn that 'only the wise survive.' A formidable debut."
—Kirkus Reviews(starred review)

About the Author

Tola Rotimi Abraham is a writer from Lagos, Nigeria. She lives in Iowa City and is currently pursuing a graduate degree in journalism. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, she has taught writing at the University of Iowa. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Catapult, The Des Moines Register, The Nigerian Literary Magazine, and other places.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Catapult (February 4, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1948226561
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1948226561
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.8 x 0.95 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 out of 5 stars 211 ratings

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
211 global ratings

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Heart wrenching, vivid, powerful
5 out of 5 stars
Heart wrenching, vivid, powerful
I did not want to put this one down! Tola writes so vividly that it’s heart wrenching. Each chapter is told through the POVs of each sibling, most notably twins Bibike and Ariyike, over the years. I felt like I was experiencing the betrayal, heartbreak and growing pains right there with them. How strong can a family be after it’s been broken from within? I was mesmerized, rooting for them and booing at all the devils in their way. A huge must read!! Highly recommend, I’ve never read a book so fast.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Gregory Barbee
    5.0 out of 5 stars Looking forward to more from Tola Rotimi Abraham
    Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Tola Rotimi Abraham’s debut deftly alternates between each of four siblings as they endure a chaotic family life that ranges from steadfast kinship to devastating estrangement. I particularly enjoyed the older twin sisters’ differing paths and lives, juxtaposed against life in modern day Nigeria. The themes of family, love, redemption and survival are compelling, and the writing is strong. The book is a quick read, in part because the characters’ progressions through life are relatable. realistic and worth the attention. Finally, as an aside, I think my favorite character was the siblings’ grandmother. She is definitely a badass.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • susan katz
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great Story
    Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2021
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    I really couldn't put this down. The family relationships were so interesting. The sister who has always been selfish promoting the church and her famous pastor husband for her own gain - what a great character. I really disliked her sometimes but always knew where she was coming from because the author was so talented at fleshing out everyone in this novel from the mother and father who leave to the grandma and all of the siblings who tell the story. I look forward to reading whatever comes next from this author.
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  • blewis
    3.0 out of 5 stars Well written story of uncertain destination
    Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2021
    This story, set in Nigeria, is of a middle class family with twin daughters and two younger sons. Their pleasant, ordered life has just fallen apart with the loss of the mother's position in the government which puts everything into financial jeopardy. Gradually they lose all security, and when the father looks to an evangelical church that promised to invest in his business venture, then leaves him with all the debt and no hope, the family falls apart. The story is told from the perspective of the children who must cope with the adults inability to cope with this crisis. The situation really could happen anywhere, but the children, specifically the twin girls taking on the financial responsibility of finding ways to support the family I think would not usually happen in this country. The trauma of the broken family affects all the children, each finding their own way of coping emotionally. While the siblings depend on each other, there is a strange disconnect. The ending left me feeling unfinished as if I might be missing something on the story. I thought the author wrote well. She described her characters' feelings and thoughts very well, but the point of their struggles get a little bit lost. I thought she got a little bit vague and uncertain how to stop her story. A little more structure to the reason for us to have made this journey with her characters would have been more fulfilling.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Stephen
    5.0 out of 5 stars A must read
    Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2022
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    As an African living in America, this novel is insightful, relatable, and thought-provoking. It reminds me of what life was like growing up in the 90s in Nigeria. I enjoyed reading this book and will surely recommend it as a must-read. I hope to share it with my daughter someday. Kudos to the author.
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  • Haley R. Flores
    4.0 out of 5 stars A book of anecdotes of twins finding their places
    Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2020
    Content/Trigger Warnings: Sexual Assault, Rape, Family Death

    While the prose is stark and gorgeous, it is not done in a sense to give you a flowing narrative.

    The POV switches between the four siblings and is divided into sections, each chapter will be another sibling and it will usually be another year or two [or more] ahead from the last chapter.

    The best way to think of it is more like a book of anecdotes of the siblings, almost like short stories rather than this cohesive narrative a lot of us come to expect in books. 

    There was something melancholic to the sisters, in different ways but while I found Bibike to grow and become someone I admire, I felt rather sorry for Ariyeki in a way, not because she was in need of my pity, but, at the end of the day she seemed rather lonely. Still, she makes her choices, she holds her head up and she moves forward.

    Overall, a gorgeous book of moments set in Lagos and full of heartache, faith, hope, and love.

    4/5 Cups of coffee from me, and thank you so much to Canongate Books for a copy of this in exchange for my honest opinion as part of the tour. 
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Karlie
    5.0 out of 5 stars Experience life in Nigeria through Black Sunday
    Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2020
    "If beauty was a gift, it was not a gift to me, I could not eat my own beauty, I could not improve my life by beauty alone."

    A great debut novel by Tola Rotimi Abraham. Taking place in nearly present-day Nigeria, Black Sunday is moving, eye-opening, tough, and also somehow calming all at once. I truly love to read stories about places I have never been, immersing myself in a life I could never imagine before reading it in a book. The chapters alternate narrators between all siblings of the same family, but I related most to the sister Bibike.  While her life, hometown, family, and upbringing are so different from my own, there are also so many similarities in the way we think and feel. This realization makes me feel very connected to all women around the world, no matter our circumstances.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Bryon Butler
    4.0 out of 5 stars powerful poverty
    Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2020
    A gushing NPR review led me to this book. I loved each chapter, believed in the characters and their situations, and wondered where each story would take me.
    Four siblings in Lagos, Nigeria, with a middle-class lifestyle are forced into poverty and parental abandonment. The chapters highlight their stories through the years, and those of their parents and grandmother. From youthful brushes with sex to delving into 21st century pop-culture-world evangelicalism, to ongoing themes of family disintegration, I was interested in each plot turn. The chapters are written as letters, or personal stories. Each is in a vibrant first person and each is strong.
    I had lived in Latin America and often saw ongoing, grinding poverty. I read of Nigerian poverty with interest, only to read that the author had fictionalized fair amounts of it. Yet, I could still see it clearly through Tola Rotimi Abraham’s prose. The realities of paucity and survival are powerful—which is what creates the scattered, bumpy plot.
    A well done first novel.
    6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Betsy Berlin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Super
    Reviewed in Germany on August 24, 2023
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    Super
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  • Sophie petiphar
    5.0 out of 5 stars Nice
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2021
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    Amazing story
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  • Annon
    4.0 out of 5 stars Black Sunday
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 23, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Black Sunday is a look at how the choices of parents impact the outcomes of their children. How the children then interpret the actions of their parents and use this in a pursuit for betterment - a life navigational tool of self-preservation and survival or not, in some cases. With religion, money, and sex thrown into the mix, all of this makes for quite a juicy and interesting read.

    ...thoroughly enjoyed it x
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  • ADK
    1.0 out of 5 stars You will want to put it down.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 19, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    This book started off well and honestly, held a lot of promise. Unfortunately however, it fell incredibly flat.
    The chapters about the brothers never quite take off (and frankly, the ones about the sisters barely do) so, it all feels quite disjointed. I sometimes felt like this book started off as many different books and then was put together as one with little thought as to the harmonisation of the characters.
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