As Tolani Akinola reminds us in her debut novel, for everything family members have in common—memories, traditions and of course, blood—there’s just as much, if not more, that they don’t share. In Leave Your Mess at Home, Akinola introduces the Longe siblings: four second-generation Nigerian American immigrants who must each confront how well or poorly the quest for the American Dream aligns with the reality of their life.
For over a decade, Sola—the second eldest of the four siblings—has been away from where they grew up in Chicago and estranged from her family. When she returns, she keeps her presence a secret, hoping she can recover from the traumatic unraveling of her influencer past and find a new purpose in life without having to face her family’s judgment. Ola, the eldest, seems to be on a clear path: He’s newly married, about to have a child and financially stable, yet he’s suddenly unsure if this is actually the life and love he wants. For Anjola, too, career success does not ensure happiness; she’s burned out from medical school and unable to acknowledge her feelings for her best friend. The youngest, Karen, is questioning her sexuality and her relationship to her Nigerian heritage as she makes her way through college.
Then, on that most American of days, Thanksgiving, the family reunites—to the surprise of some. Over the course of the fraught meal that follows, what becomes clear is that while they have all kept secrets, made their own narratives from the past and seen things differently, all the while they’ve missed each other and longed for moments of connection.
There’s a tenderness to the Longe family, even amid their bitterest struggles. While the siblings are at the center of Leave Your Mess at Home, the Longe parents cast a long shadow, and their experiences as new immigrants trying to find their footing prove particularly compelling. Each of the family members works through shades of alienation to figure out what is owed and what is earned in this striking, smart debut.