These Blazing Suns

“An impressive first novel.”—World Literature Today 

A vibrant, deeply moving coming-of-age novel from one of Côte d’Ivoire’s most exciting new literary voices 

Iro has left his rural village for Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire’s most dynamic city, with a single goal: to make something of himself. At university, he and his friends Thierry, Malick, and Yeo chase their ambitions while juggling odd jobs, economic hardship, and the expectations of their families, whose livelihood depends on their success. 

When Iro’s father dies, he returns to his village, where is forced to confront how little he knew about the man whose life he had sworn not to repeat. He discovers that his father, too, once left home to study in Abidjan—and that the distance between them may be smaller than he imagined. 

Moving between the energy of modern Abidjan and the traditions of village life, These Blazing Suns is a tender, hopeful novel about fathers and sons, friendship, and the tension between duty and the desire to find yourself.