'If by some chance you happen on these letters, know that I waited for you. And if you don't find me, it is not because I stopped waiting...'
While chasing a rogue football, Fatima crosses paths with Bessem and the instant attraction between the two propels them into a life-changing romance. Despite an atmosphere of threat due to the criminalisation of same-sex relationships in their home country of Cameroon, Fatima and Bessem persevere in living out their love. All seems to be going well, until one day tragedy strikes, and Fatima disappears...
Thirteen years later, Bessem is now a university professor, keeping her sexuality secret but bonding with her equally-closeted friend Jamal and the queer community around her. But Fatima still haunts her. A chance encounter with people from her past, pushes Bessem to finally go after the truth of her lover's whereabouts.
Told mostly through unsent letters, These Letters End in Tears, powerfully charts all the different ways that love, despite all odds, can persevere.
Genre: Literary Fiction
While chasing a rogue football, Fatima crosses paths with Bessem and the instant attraction between the two propels them into a life-changing romance. Despite an atmosphere of threat due to the criminalisation of same-sex relationships in their home country of Cameroon, Fatima and Bessem persevere in living out their love. All seems to be going well, until one day tragedy strikes, and Fatima disappears...
Thirteen years later, Bessem is now a university professor, keeping her sexuality secret but bonding with her equally-closeted friend Jamal and the queer community around her. But Fatima still haunts her. A chance encounter with people from her past, pushes Bessem to finally go after the truth of her lover's whereabouts.
Told mostly through unsent letters, These Letters End in Tears, powerfully charts all the different ways that love, despite all odds, can persevere.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"Musih Tedji Xaviere's debut novel These Letters End In Tears is a beautifully tender, heartfelt story about love and the devastating consequences of a world that is not yet all accepting. Her prose is deft and delicate, pulling you quickly in and holding you, as though you were living it." - JJ Bola
"A tender, moving portrait of forbidden desire. In deft, clear prose, Xaviere presents us with the devastating and yet redemptive power of love." - Chukwuebuka Ibeh
"Xaviere has woven together a needed story about love and how that love gets torn apart by homophobia. In lovely prose and an intimate epistolary style, we follow Bessem's journey in finding her long-lost love." - Soraya Palmer
"An engaging debut of a memorable forbidden love beautifully narrated by one of the voices to watch." - Zukiswa Wanner
"An urgent and devastating story about the cost of living in a place that refuses to recognize your humanity. With vivid and textured prose, Xaviere weaves a tale readers will not soon forget." - Soon Wiley
"A tender, moving portrait of forbidden desire. In deft, clear prose, Xaviere presents us with the devastating and yet redemptive power of love." - Chukwuebuka Ibeh
"Xaviere has woven together a needed story about love and how that love gets torn apart by homophobia. In lovely prose and an intimate epistolary style, we follow Bessem's journey in finding her long-lost love." - Soraya Palmer
"An engaging debut of a memorable forbidden love beautifully narrated by one of the voices to watch." - Zukiswa Wanner
"An urgent and devastating story about the cost of living in a place that refuses to recognize your humanity. With vivid and textured prose, Xaviere weaves a tale readers will not soon forget." - Soon Wiley
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