“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.
Genre: Fantasy
"[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.
Genre: Fantasy
Praise for this book
"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 Nwoka is a masterful storyteller, and a writer of unusual grace." - Alexia Arthurs
"God of Mercy is a profound exploration of religion, faith, and compassion from a gifted storyteller. Okezie Nwoka creates a richly imagined postcolonial landscape that is at once otherworldly, tragically human, and completely unforgettable." - Maisy Card
"This beautiful book has magic in it, and grace, and power." - Kate Christensen
"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, Nw?ka 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 Rosa Tshuma
"God of Mercy is a profound exploration of religion, faith, and compassion from a gifted storyteller. Okezie Nwoka creates a richly imagined postcolonial landscape that is at once otherworldly, tragically human, and completely unforgettable." - Maisy Card
"This beautiful book has magic in it, and grace, and power." - Kate Christensen
"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, Nw?ka 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 Rosa Tshuma
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