The Liquid Eye of a Moon: A Novel [Hardcover]

A Nigerian Catcher in the Rye, Uchenna Awoke’s masterful debut breaks the silence about a hidden and dangerous contemporary caste system

Fifteen-year-old Dimkpa dreams of the day his father will be made village head. He will return to school and maybe even go on to university; his mother will no longer have to break her back foraging wild food to sell at market; they will have the money to build a fine tomb for his aunt Okike; and his family’s status as ohu ma, the lowest Igbo caste, won’t matter anymore. But when his father is passed over for a younger man, breaking tradition, Dimkpa realizes that he must make his own fate.

Journeying from his small village in rural Nigeria, to Lagos, Awka, and home again, Dimkpa learns that no money is easy money, that superstition runs deep, that knowledge is power, and that sometimes it is better to live in the present than to always be chasing a future just out of reach.

The Liquid Eye of a Moon is by turns hilarious and poignant, capturing all the messiness of adolescence, and the difficulty of making your own way in a world that seeks to oppress you.Amazon, A Best Book of the Month
Debutiful, A Noteworthy Debut of June
Brittle Paper, A Most Anticipated Title
Literary Hub, A Most Anticipated Title

Awoke’s writing is impressive; his metaphors are refreshing and vivid . . . A writer of great promise. —Martha Anne Toll, NPR

“Awoke merges a folklorist tale with a strong, contemporary eye. It’s a striking story of destiny, hope and self-realization . . . A modern classic, sure to thrill fans of Chinua Achebe and Chigozie Obioma.” —Nelson C.J., OkayAfrical!