The Cheeky Natives

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In Only Big Bum Bum Matters Tomorrow, Damilare Kuku introduces a protagonist, Témì with big plans for a drastic change to her appearance in the form of a BBL. 

In her debut novel, Damilare examines familial relationships, beauty standards and the quest for desirability in modern day Nigeria. 

Témì is a young university student, grappling with her body image all while navigating loss and complex family dynamics including her older sister’s sudden disappearance prior. 

Her journey towards the BBL unravels a slew of other issues including the weight of physical beauty, the desire to be attractive and what it means to reach for unattainable beauty standards. 

The women in this book are deeply flawed but incredibly relatable, a testament to the authors skill. They live full and interesting lives while making challenging decisions in a life full of difficulties. 

Once again, Damilare disarms the reading by infusing humour in writing these challenging themes. 

Deeply observant and thought-provoking, Damilare scratches beyond the surface of what it means to be a woman striving for beauty and by extension a sense of self, in contemporary Nigeria. 

We sat down with Damilare Kuku to discuss self identification, beauty standards and the quest for beauty while navigating familial relationships

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In a collection of 12 short stories, Damilare Kuku demonstrates the almost Sisyphean task that is navigating love, relationships and life in Lagos. 

Damilare deftly uses humour and wit to explore the difficult themes of love, loss, friendship and romance, often catching the reader unaware. 

As a testament to the universality of these stories, as reader you or someone you know may have encountered one of the mad men Damilare has written about. 

Of course the women are not exempt from the afflictions of humanity, many of them being difficult and somewhat exhausting in a node to the realities of the women we do know in our daily life. 

Most striking is the depiction of sex and agency displayed by these women particularly in the face of misogyny and patriarchy. 

Damilare draws the reader in, using both humour and sensitivity as she explores what it means to live and love in a place like Lagos. 

We sat down with Damilare to discuss her break out collection. 

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Coloured as an ethnicity and racial demographic is intertwined with the creation of today’s South Africa. Yet often coloured communities are disdained as people with no clear heritage or culture – as not "black enough" or "white enough". 

Coloured by Tessa Dooms and Lynsey Ebony Chutel, challenges this notion and presents a different angle to that narrative. It delves into the history of coloured people as descendants of indigenous Africans and a people whose identity was shaped by colonisation, slavery and apartheid. 

Coloured as an ethnicity was again in the spotlight following Tyla’s brilliant rise to fame on both side of the Atlantic this year.  In South Africa, there has been a problematic discourse that disparages the Coloured identity as inherently lacking, in culture, heritage and ultimately place in our democracy. 

Tessa Dooms and Lynsey Ebony Chutel, challenge this prevailing idea  and bring forth a different way to view this incredibly varied and rich community.  In a powerful exposition, Tessa and Lynsey delve into the history of people shaped by colonisation, slavery and apartheid. 

Spurred by the death of  Nathaniel Julies, a young Coloured boy following a shooting by the police.  #ColouredLivesMatter began to circulate on social media in response to this violence. 

Tessa and Lynsey sought to address the cultural alienation that young Coloured people continue to experience in South Africa by looking deeply into the history of Coloured history, ancestry and political placement in South Africa.  In working through the conundrum of Coloured identity, it becomes clear that it cannot be distilled in racial classification.  

We sat down with Tessa and Lynsey to discuss the complexities of Coloured identity beyond the tropes and stereotypes.  We spoke about the work of understanding the realities of Coloured identities, experiences and setting. 

Written as a mirror to both reader and subject matter, this book is a love letter to Coloured people. 

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In a once majestic but now decaying mansion, itself a potent metaphor for the current state of Durban where it’s set, we meet the characters of Shubnum Khan’s latest novel. 

Originally developed as an ode to beauty, culture and heritage by its owner Akbar Ali Khan, who came to make his fortune in South Africa. 

In its current incarnation, the mansion has been converted to weary looking apartments with an assortment of residents each haunted by their own tragedies and pasts. 

With the latest edition being Bilal and his teenage daughter, Sana. 
In a mix of teenage angst and curiosity, Sana stumbles upon some of the houses supernatural inhabitants. In a novel that confronts the ghosts of the past and present, Shubnum weaves a magical tale of loss and becoming. 

We sat down with her to discuss the magic of things lost and forgotten, the gift of memory and archiving and what it means to make amends. 

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In this novel, Busisekile asks what it means to be a young woman asked to make difficult decisions in impossible situations.

Centred around Vimbai, a young Zimbabwean woman navigating young adulthood amid an economic crisis. She faces significant childhood trauma and we see its subsequent manifestation in her overachievement, detachment and other relational issues. These issues are compounded by the complexity of dating and navigating those additional layers. Both of her love interests are deeply problematic, flawed and unlikeable in varying degrees.

We are captivated by these love stories. 
Navigating adulthood is impossible without community and Vimbai is no exception. There is an exploration of imperfect women still holding each other with grace as friends. 

Busisekile also explores the complexities of queer lived experiences in queerphobic spaces.

Romance, parental failings, economic challenges – these are some of the themes Busisekile deftly explores. 

We sat with her to discuss the complexities of love, choice and growing up.

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Honey& Spice is a sweet, evocative and humorous coming of age debut novel from Bolu Babalola. We first encountered Bolu in the short story collection “Love in Colour.”

In her debut novel set in a PWI in the UK, we are introduced to a cast of characters so relatable that you will find yourself or your friends in at least one of these individuals. 


The protagonist, Kiki is a seemingly self-controlled and focused young woman who is adept at playing the romance long game and seems to be content with the fleeting nature of these modern day dating interactions. This continues until the introduction of a new student, Malakai who is incredibly good-looking, intelligent and lovely. On paper, this combination is perfect, however the reality of life dictates that the seas of love are not smooth sailing at all.

There a series of events where we witness Kiki and Malakai fake date and pass through the enemies to lover pipeline with a few complications in between.
As the book unfolds, the themes of friendship, kinship and family come to the fore. We watch the characters navigate the realities of past romantic traumas, the  veneer of unavailability and parental disappointments as best as they are equipped to.

Bolu’s characters ask us to think widely of love and friendship in the contexts of youth and self -discovery; what does it mean to find love in broken places and people. On first look, this is a fun, coming of age story set in a British university but a deeper inspection reveals a contemplation on trauma, familial influence and chosen family.

We sat with Bolu Babalola to discuss these themes and ideas in this engaging conversation

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In this immaculate study of father-son relationships and the black masculinity, Okechukwu introduces to two Black, gay British-Nigerian men. Achike and Ekene find themselves wading through the existential phenomena of being alive, Black and gay while navigating life, ambitions and family.

The story begins with these two but then traces back to the fathers of these men, and their forefathers, in doing so examines a lineage of brokenness, unavailability and abuse.

Who is man and how much of what he is, is a result of what has become and was undone before him? 

Okechukwu uses recurrence to emphasise the cyclical nature of life in this novel while exploring Igbo mythology and concepts of life, death and rebirth.

The characters are struck by a tragedy almost a halfway into the book which forces the reader and the characters to participate in the exposition of love and life lost and intimacy unfulfilled. These complexities are compounded by grief and the cruelty of loss as we watch these characters attempt to make sense of iniquity of tragedy.

We sat with Okechukwu to discuss his hauntingly beautiful trans-generational novel on fathers, sons, love and grief.

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In this enthralling debut collection of short stories by Arinze Ifeakandu God’s Children Are Little Broken Things is a collection of 9 short stories set in Nigeria that examine queer identity, relationships, family and societal isolation.

Arinze writes stories with characters whose lives are layered, complicated by youth, love and grief. He asks of them and by extension, the reader; difficult questions around the relationship between truth and honesty, disappointment and resilience.

Many of these stories could be individual novels and that in itself is a testament to Arinze’s skill in one of the most challenging literary genres.

We sat down with Arinze Ifeakandu to discuss his Dylan Thomas prize winning debut 
God’s Children Are Little Broken Things. It also won the inaugural Republic of Consciousness Prize. It has also been shortlisted for other literary awards.

In this powerful conversation we explored love lost and found, queer belonging and displacement, the onsweship of grief , and what it means to love a place that may not love you back.

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In this intriguing debut by  Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ, we are introduced to two young girls Ozoemena and Treasure, whose coming of age takes place in a boarding school in Nigeria. Their meeting is set against the backdrop of familial loss and tragedy. 

We watch them try to navigate the realities of coming of age and into themselves in a society that doesn’t always give them space to do that.


Treasure has experienced the violence of patriarchy and the institutions which support it and has to make difficult decisions when approached by a dark spirit.

 Ozoemena has to contend with a different spiritual identity when her uncle dies. 


In this novel, filled with Igbo mythology and fascinating metaphysical occurrences, African oral histories are brought to the forefront.

We sat with Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ as we explored what it means to write a genre bending coming of age novel as a debut.

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This book begins with a curse put on the house of Zulu and her family, the Mhlongos, by Nandi Mhlongo, mother of Shaka ka Senzangakhona for the disrespect she endured from them.Weaving through the lives of three women living in different historical ages who in their own ways attempt to get restitution for Nandi.

Through the eyes of three female protagonists, each who experiences a different loss and heartbreak, Dr Mazibuko-Msimang explores African spirituality, disappointment and familial relationships.

This novel is an ode to the power of historical fiction, well-researched with a focus on some of the most important historical periods in South Africa. From the Frontier wars, Apartheid and Fees Must Fall, each of the protagonists reveal a powerful, feminist centred gaze. 

Dr Mazibuko-Msimang sat down with us to discuss her debut novel. In this eye opening conversation, we discussed the themes of generational trauma, cellular memory, restorative justice  and how those with no institutional power get justice.

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