Little Rot

Content Warning: The novel and this section of the guide contain references to violence, murder, drug use, rape, human trafficking, child abuse, and child sexual abuse.

Souraya is on the balcony of her Kuala Lumpur apartment, gazing out at the dark city and listening to old Nigerian music that “encouraged […] homesickness” (84). She hasn’t been home in many years, even though she now goes all over the world with her clients, some of whom are Nigerian. Souraya usually works “in bursts” and then takes a couple of months off to travel and spend time in Kuala Lumpur. During one of these breaks, her friend Ola, a trans sex worker, asks her to go back to Nigeria to see an important client. However, Souraya is hesitant; she hasn’t been home in years, and there is a past she doesn’t want to face. After her father left, her mother remarried and shipped her “half-caste bastard” daughter off to New Lagos, where she “disappeared into the city” (87). The next day, Souraya surprises Ola by agreeing to go as long as her friend’s client provides her with some “pocket money.”

On Friday at 8:04 pm, Souraya unpacks her bag in a New Lagos hotel suite while Ola prepares for dinner with her client next door.