God of Mercy: A Novel

by Okezie Nwoka

Overview

“Nwoka’s debut feels like a dream, or a fable, or something in between . . . Recommended for fans of Nnedi Okorafor’s Remote Control or Nghi Vo’s The Empress of Salt and Fortune.” —Ashley Rayner, Booklist

"[God of Mercy] owes a debt to Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, revising that novel's message for the recent past . . . A well-turned dramatization of spiritual and social culture clashes." —Kirkus Reviews

Homegoing meets  Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Okezie Nwọka’s debut novel is a powerful reimagining of a history erased.

God of Mercy is set in Ichulu, an Igbo village where the people’s worship of their gods is absolute. Their adherence to tradition has allowed them to evade the influences of colonialism and globalization. But the village is reckoning with changes, including a war between gods signaled by Ijeoma, a girl who can fly.

As tensions grow between Ichulu and its neighboring colonized villages, Ijeoma is forced into exile. Reckoning with her powers and exposed to the world beyond Ichulu, she is imprisoned by a Christian church under the accusation of being a witch. Suffering through isolation, she comes to understand the truth of merciful love.

Reimagining the nature of tradition and cultural heritage and establishing a folklore of the uncolonized, God of Mercy is a novel about wrestling with gods, confronting demons, and understanding one's true purpose.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781662600838
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	11/02/2021
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	1,101,924
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Okezie Nwọka (he/they) was born and raised in Washington, D.C. They are a graduate of Brown University, and attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop as a Dean Graduate Research Fellow. They teach and live in their hometown.

Editorial Reviews

09/27/2021

Nwoka’s dense, mythologically charged debut takes place in an Igbo village in an unspecified area of Africa, at an unspecified time. There, magic is a part of daily life, the inhabitants attribute their fortunes to the Igbo gods, and young, mute Ijeoma discovers she can fly. Her dissolute father, Ofodile, decides this power is dangerous, and, without the knowledge of Ijeoma’s mother or the rest of the community, exiles her to Precious Word Ministries, where she is abused, caged, and regarded as a witch. After years of maltreatment, during which she writes hundreds of diary entries entreating the village god Chukwu to save her, she and her rebellious friend Ikemba make plans to escape, and their scheming brings about magical and transformative consequences. Nwoka immerses the reader in an often-bewildering world, and though readers unfamiliar with the culture will have a tough time making sense of the parameters, those who stick with it will be rewarded with a rich sense of place. This stirring coming-of-age story holds its own in a recent wave of feminist fiction set in Africa. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"Okezie Nwọka's debut novel, God of Mercy . . . continues a powerful literary tradition of representing Igbo resistance to colonial pressures. Like Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (1958), God of Mercy narrates both the dignified beauty of Igbo village life and also the village’s struggle with its own traditions."
—Cynthia R. Wallace, Ploughshares

"While this tremendous work is most readily described as magical realism or as a work of fable, God of Mercy is too powerful to stay within the confines of a single genre . . . Written in verse that recalls the rhythm of fables, Nwoka eloquently details the perseverance and thriving of a young woman descended from a people who have resisted colonization at every turning point in history."
—Maya C. James, Locus

"Nwoka’s debut feels like a dream, or a fable, or something in between . . . The vestiges of colonialism run deep throughout this novel, as well as themes of forgiveness and compassionate love . .  Recommended for fans of Nnedi Okorafor’s Remote Control or Nghi Vo’s The Empress of Salt and Fortune."
—Ashley Rayner, Booklist

"In Okezie Nwọka’s dazzling and disquieting novel God of Mercy, battles between gods reignite a war between religions . . . Rife with magical realism and full of promise . . . God of Mercy undertakes a scrupulous review of the destructive power of colonialism through an imprisoned, gifted girl."
—George Hajjar, Starred Review, Foreword Reviews

"Nwoka trusts readers to follow the story without much expository cultural background, and the result feels authentic and organic. Book clubs looking for stories to inspire deep discussion need look no further."
—Shelf Awareness

"[God of Mercy] owes a debt to Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, revising that novel's message for the recent past . . . A pair of distinctive qualities [make] Nwọka worth continued attention. First is their command of different rhetorical modes . . . Second is an earned note of optimism . . . A well-turned dramatization of spiritual and social culture clashes."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Nwọka’s dense, mythologically charged debut . . . immerses the reader in an often-bewildering world . . . [a] stirring coming-of-age story."
—Publishers Weekly

"Tradition and change clash to devastating effect in Okezie Nwoka's compelling and heartrending debut, God of Mercy . . . Nwoka writes with a sure rhythm all their own, slipping easily between structured passages and stream of consciousness inner monologues."
—Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads via Shelf Awareness

"What an incisive contemplation of being in the world. I read this book with awe and gratitude. It is a love letter to a world in which multiple ways of being may be celebrated. Through their meditation on igbo ontology and its colonial defilement, Nwọka invites us into an exquisite exploration of flight and abandonment, evoking stories that are as old as they are new, timeless as they are timely."
—Novuyo Tshuma, author of House of Stone

"God of Mercy is an elegantly written, morally rigorous exploration of tradition and belonging. Reminiscent of Toni Morrison's inventive language-making and Chinua Achebe's decolonizing legacy, Okezie Nwọka is a masterful storyteller, and a writer of unusual grace."
—Alexia Arthurs, author of How to Love a Jamaican

"God of Mercy is a profound exploration of religion, faith, and compassion from a gifted storyteller. Okezie Nwọka creates a richly imagined postcolonial landscape that is at once otherworldly, tragically human, and completely unforgettable."
—Maisy Card, author of These Ghosts are Family

"God of Mercy isn't just a heart-stopping debut—it's a complete decolonization of the novel, a resounding rejection of the white gaze, a chronicle of a history that has for too long gone untold. This book is at the forefront of a new generation of postcolonial novels, and Nwoka's talent is unmatched."
—R.A. Frumkin, author of The Confidence

“This beautiful book has magic in it, and grace, and power.”
—Kate Christensen, author of The Great Man

From the Publisher

2021-09-15
A girl with the ability to fly disrupts the pieties of those around her.

When we first meet Ijeoma, the mute hero of Nwoka’s fablelike first novel, she’s an adventurous 9-year-old in a tight-knit rural community. When she demonstrates an ability to levitate, everybody is awestruck, and, in short order, terrified. Her father, Ofodile, worries that she’s possessed and has upset the order among rival gods. That concern intensifies when Ijeoma conducts other heterodox acts: surreptitiously feeding an infant that’s been left alone in a forest, thus intervening in a ritual attempt to cleanse it of evil spirits; or consorting with an “osu,” or spiritual outcast. Soon the crisis expands beyond the community, as Ijeoma is claimed by hard-line Christian pastor Innocent, who sees her as one of a handful of blasphemers in need of imprisonment and correction. In terms of theme and conflict, as well as references to Nigerian folklore, the novel owes a debt to Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, revising that novel's message for the recent past. (Interstitial diary entries by Ijeoma are written circa 2000.) And though the novel feels overlong considering its narrow scope, it has a pair of distinctive qualities that makes Nwoka worth continued attention. First is their command of different rhetorical modes. Within Ijeoma’s family and community, the prose is rhythmic and stylish; within Innocent’s world, it’s stentorian and shaped by cold logic. Second is an earned note of optimism that highlights Ijeoma’s indomitability in the face of tragedy. Oppression and fear are constants both within Ijeoma’s family and outside her enclave, but Nwoka also suggests the possibility of escape.

A well-turned dramatization of spiritual and social culture clashes.

Kirkus Reviews