A House That’s Not a Home is an anthology of nine short stories that mirror the realities in most Nigerian and African homes. Though the themes and narrative styles of the stories are as diverse as the cultural and experiential backgrounds of the writers, they share a common sentiment: what happens in our homes, and how those happenings shape our lives.

While these stories portray what unfolds in our houses and homes, schools and worship areas, communities and other spaces, they also beam an uncomfortable truth: that the structures we build to protect ourselves and our loved ones are often the same structures that seek to destroy us. The danger, these stories remind us, rarely comes from outside. It has an unforgettable name. It has an unmistakable face. It sits at the table. It knows where we sleep.

This is not a comfortable anthology. But it is an honest one. The stories probe and confront. They stir denial and anger, as well as empathy and introspection. They are bizarre yet relatable in ways that make us think and rethink how we perceive what makes us humans. And what makes a house a home, or not.