This was an extremely dark, twisted, and depraved look at morality, corruption, and the interplay between sex and violence. This was my first Akwaeke Emezi book and I absolutely love their writing style. It's poetic and sensual without feeling too heavy-handed. Definitely some potentially triggering stuff, so check content warnings! But overall, an extremely well-paced and gritty look at the blinders we can put up to the evils of ourselves and the world.

In the fictional Nigerian city, New Lagos, Ahmed hosts decadent and highly exclusive sex parties. Ahmed’s best friend Kalu is distraught over his break-up with longtime girlfriend Aima and decides to show up to one of Ahmed’s party. There, he encounters a perverse scene that sets him over the edge and leads him to beating up one of the party-goers. Unbeknownst to him, the man he beat up is the most powerful man in New Lagos, a proud and wealthy preacher who then takes a hit out on him. Meanwhile, Kalu’s ex, Aima, is coping by partying with her best friend who just happens to be the wealthy preacher’s god daughter, one of many overlapping coincidences that keep the plot moving forward.

Despite its super dark plot, this book gracefully moves from one character’s point of view to the next, weaving together the story from page to page until everything comes crashing together in the climax. Emezi's writing style can't be beat. But it's a very very dark storyline, not for the faint of heart. Read content warnings.

This was a wild ride.

Emezi is an absolute genius at creating atmosphere. Every description, from scenery to food to interactions between characters, set the tone for this book. The title also sums it up perfectly.

This was so dark, often difficult to sink myself into while also so stunningly gripping that I couldn’t put it down. Major trigger warnings for a lot of plot points.

Thanks to Riverhead and NetGalley for the ARC.

2.5 stars

Akwaeke Emezi is one of my favorite writers, but this book was not for me. I'm not sure I've ever had such a hard lesson in literature: that my own wellbeing should, probably, supersede my unwavering desire to read a book by an author I adore.

For me, the scenes of sexual abuse and exploitation were so overwhelming that I had a hard time even arriving at a sensical plot line or any kind of understandable character development. Like actual trauma, the vicarious experience clouded my understanding and perception of everything around it. This was, for me, too much.

Readers who struggle at all with the aforementioned content should go through the rest of Emezi's collection and wait for whatever they write next. I continue to adore this author but very much wish certain scenes from this text could be eternal sunshined right out of my brain.

the books is a good, but no warning about the abuse of minors was unacceptable, I can't recommend it to anyone because no one I know would read a book like this. I know the author is edgy and I have enjoyed that in other work but this really does cross a line

I'm at a bit of a loss on how to review this one. I've read and adored every single book Akwaeke Emezi has written, but this one feels very different. Dark, grim, full of unlikeable and unredeemable characters, propulsive but more in a way that made me feel sick. It's going to be a difficult book to promote as a reviewer/blogger and difficult to handsell as a bookseller.

Unhinged, absolutely fucked up. I don’t even know what to say. Loved it. Am devastated by it. I’m an Akwaeke Emezi fan for life, and this just cements them as one of the best.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc ♡

This is a phenomenal novel. I think it may be my favorite of Emezi's more strictly 'literary' novels (as their literary romance 'You've Made a Fool of Death'...will probably remain my absolute favorite for awhile still). But, really, IS this a strictly literary novel? It's got almost everything: erotic moments (that are, unsurprisingly, incredibly hot), romantic moments, quiet moments of friendship, high-tension thriller elements, and so much more. I was on the edge of my seat reading some of these chapters, and I was so deeply worried about and invested in so many of these characters, something that rarely happens when I read these days. As for the story itself: it's vibrant, it's disturbing as hell, it's got these fabulous bursts of joy, and it wraps up in emotionally complex ways. Content warnings for rape, SA, coercion, and violent murder, among many other things.

Thank you to NetGalley, Akwaeke Emezi, and Riverhead Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Despite the short length, this book packs quite a punch - it was, in all honesty, quite difficult to read! The characters take moral grayness to an extreme and this book is extremely violent and extremely sexual, often at the exact same time. I was fascinated by the way this book intertwined sex and power so... casually? The deviance written here has an almost offhand tone, which makes it somehow more disturbing than it would be on its own. I feel like I need to spend some time on r/eyebleach after this one. Take the trigger warnings to heart with this one for sure!

I enjoy Emezi's work because it's often experimental--you never know what you're going to get with the next book. This book reminded me of Earthlings by Sayaka Murata because it was one of the most messed up books I've read, but I did read the whole thing. I would be hesitant recommending this to just anyone, but I do know there are readers who would enjoy. I would just provide trigger warnings before the book talk because I could see where this would be too intense and triggering for some people. I also described this book as "Nollywood Pulp Fiction" due to the overlapping POVs, the big bad of the underworld, etc.

Thank you to NetGalley and Riverhead Books for an early digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

This story follows a group of friends as they navigate the underground of a Nigerian city.

I was super excited to read this because Emezi is my all-time favorite author.

What I liked:
- The writing style. There's so much thought put into each word and sentence. It's very long-winded prose but it's so rewarding to read. There's always a message for everyone.
- There will always be great LGBTQIA+ rep in Emezi's stories. I've always appreciated the multi-faceted parts to the rep too. Emezi shows the good, the bad, and the ugly. This story was no exception.

What I didn't really like:
- It was missing oomph that their other books have. This wasn't a bad book by any means, but I'm so used to having a little something that sets it apart from other books.
-This one was under 300 pages, but it felt incredibly long for what it was. I didn't always gravitate toward it.

I know this was very middle of the road for me, but I know that it will be a beloved story for other readers to experience. I still recommend it, and I cannot wait to see what else they have in store for us.

**I will add my Instagram review to this by 2/20/24.

I... truly do not even have the words for this book. I don't even all the way know how to feel. This book is sick, it's twisty, it's messy. These characters are deeply flawed and are in some crazy situations. We truly are thrust into the underworld of New Lagos with what we experience in Little Rot. I had very visceral reactions to what unfolded in this book and I felt deeply uncomfortable at times.

One thing I will say is Emezi has range. The way they are able to write so many vastly different books and move in and out of genres is incredible. I am very curious to hear/see other people's reactions to this book because I am... stressed.

I also want to add that I wish this book had content warnings in the beginning. There are so scenes in that can be very triggering to folks and I personally wished I would have had a heads up on what to expect. This is an ARC so hopefully once the book releases in June, they will be included. Still this book causes us to take a long hard look at the ugly deeds that are often thinly veiled in our society.

Set in the Nigerian underground, so much chaos insues. I don't this is was mentally prepared for this book. what a great surpise! I read this book almost oin one sitting!

I thought "The Death of Vivek Oji" was very well done and heralded the debut of a new and exciting writer. I didn't care as much for "You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty," which I thought was a waste of Emezi's considerable talent. I did commend her for trying a new genre, but that book just made her seem...ordinary. It was a generic romance novel with an unlikely couple at its core.

"Little Rot" is another departure, and I think we're traveling in the wrong direction. Perhaps Emezi has written and released too many books in too few years. Sometimes this book feels like a novice writer's first attempt at crafting a story. Describe what the people are wearing, what their skin looks like, etc. It's very elementary. None of the characters feel like real people, and their consciousnesses sound remarkably similar.

It's rare I read a book in the third person omniscient point of view where I don't care about a single character. Towards the end, one of our protagonists makes a supposedly gut-wrenching decision in order to save his own life, but it seems to me like it was a no-brainer. It feels like a man who holds grudges and cannot stand to be publicly disrespected gives up pretty easily because Emezi needed to end the book in ten pages.

5 ⭐️ Well that was disturbing…. in the best way possible? I love Emezi’s previous work and the way they consistently challenge convention, not only conceptually, but through language and their character’s actions and thoughts, too. In Little Rot, Emezi’s exploration of power, sex, and corruption in New Lagos will leave you intentionally uncomfortable. I throughly enjoyed the way they intricately weaved this storyline together - once again, Emezi proves to be an important mediator on culture, queerness, and blackness.

Thank you to NetGalley and Riverhead Books for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

this was fun and i enjoyed the story! I like Akwaeke emezi's work and this was pretty fun! I liked the writing style and it was pretty good

Like all of Emezi's books, you will get caught up in the lush and elaborate lives of these characters. Little Rot is more sexual and violent and ultimately sad, I think (even as devastating as Vivek Oji is). Heed the trigger warnings and be prepared.