{"id":37206,"date":"2025-07-04T05:04:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T05:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/37206\/"},"modified":"2025-07-04T05:04:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T05:04:19","slug":"the-tiny-things-are-heavier-is-a-reflection-on-young-adulthood-and-migration-los-angeles-sentinel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/37206\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Tiny Things Are Heavier\u2019 is a reflection on young adulthood and migration \u2013 Los Angeles Sentinel"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"This cover image released by Bloomsbury shows \u201cThe Tiny Things are Heavier\u201d by Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo. (Bloomsbury via AP)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Tiny Things Are Heavier,\u201d by author Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo, is a reflection on young adulthood, migration, cultural misunderstanding and family relationships.<\/p>\n

Okonkwo\u2019s debut novel is at turns amusing and heartbreaking as it follows Sommy, a Nigerian graduate student trying to navigate her new life in Iowa. Lonesome and homesick, Sommy tries to fit in as she studies for her master\u2019s degree, eventually befriending several other women in their 20s and engaging in a complicated sexual relationship with her gregarious Nigerian roommate, Bayo.<\/p>\n

Through it all, Sommy is haunted by guilt over her brother Mezie\u2019s attempted suicide just two weeks before she left her homeland for the United States. She\u2019s also frustrated that Mezie answers her frequent phone calls and text messages with silence, leaving her to wonder what he\u2019s thinking and where their relationship stands.<\/p>\n

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Okonkwo astutely captures the awkwardness and insecurities of a young woman from any country or culture starting an independent life as an adult. She also shows how relationships with family members can change when young people reach adulthood and head out on their own.<\/p>\n

While still involved with Bayo, Sommy falls for Bryan, who was born to a white mother and a Nigerian father he never knew. After Sommy carries out her deceit for some time, Bayo eventually learns that his roommate is now with someone else and leaves deeply hurt.<\/p>\n

Bryan and Sommy form a serious relationship and make plans to visit Nigeria so he can track down his father.<\/p>\n

When they finally make the trip, Bryan\u2019s quest to finally know his dad turns out to be highly disappointing. Sommy has some luck connecting with her brother, but she sees him with different eyes now that she\u2019s an adult.<\/p>\n

An unexpected tragedy during the Nigeria visit suddenly changes everyone\u2019s future forever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This cover image released by Bloomsbury shows \u201cThe Tiny Things are Heavier\u201d by Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo. (Bloomsbury via…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":37207,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[1022,171,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-37206","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114793222218533271","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}