Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi will be the Perth Queer Book Club’s pick for March.
The 2024 novel by the Nigerian writer follows five friends who become ensnared in a mess of sex, lies, and corruption.
Emezi grew up in Nigeria where they spent their childhood as a voracious reader. They moved to the USA at 16 to study. They received significant acclaim for their debut novel Freshwater which was semi-autobiographical.
As Ememi is non-binary there has been discussion about their inclusion in gender defined writing awards, and the author has opted out of being included in awards that define gender based on sex assigned at birth.
Among their work is the young adult novels Pet, Bitter and Somadina, five adult novels including The Death of Vivek Oji, You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty, and Son of the Morning. They have also published a collection of poetry and a memoir.
When Little Rot was released in 2024 the Los Angeles Times described it as a “masterwork” in capturing things going wrong in people’s lives very quickly. They said the book is not easy reading because of characters who have experienced traumatic sexual abuse.
Perth’s Queer Book Club is an initiative of GRAI: GLBTI Rights in Ageing, and was established after years of members of Perth’s LGBTIQA+ communities expressing a desire for a book club.
Each month a different selection of people turn up to the discussion, and it’s a welcoming space where people aren’t compelled to speak if they go along.
It starts of with everyone introducing themselves and sharing their pronouns, and everyone is asked to describe the book in just one word. Then a moderator starts the discussion with a few provocations, and you can chime in with your thoughts, or just listen to what everyone else has to say.
At the end of the session everyone rates the book using a unicorn scoring system, one unicorn means you weren’t a fan, while five unicorns shows some serious love.
The Queer Book Club will meet on Wednesday 25th March from 6.00pm at the Pride Centre in the Northbridge Piazza at 142 James Street, Northbridge.
Find out more about the group at their Facebook page.
