One Leg on Earth

A powerful, lyrical and haunting literary debut. A coming-of-age novel set in modern Lagos, for readers of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Julia Armfield.

'POWERFUL, DAZZLING, IRRESISTIBLY STRANGE'
New York Times

* * * * * *

Newly arrived in Lagos, Yosoye has the world at her feet. Her work at an architectural company is exciting, and the firm's new housing development, Omi City, encapsulates all the shiny potential of the future. But beneath the city's glittering surface, something is very wrong . . .

Why will no-one answer her questions about Omi City? Why are pregnant women walking into the lagoons, never to return?

And why is she suddenly so ravenous?

* * * * * *

PRAISE FOR ONE LEG ON EARTH . . .

'A powerfully eerie portrait of Lagos ... a virtuoso of dread and suspense, Aguda splices eco-horror, cosmic distress and ideas of the monstrous feminine into a singularly nail-biting experience ' Guardian

'Powerful, vividly written ... a superb parable of loneliness, greed and desire, full of creeping dread' Marie Claire

'Intricately layered, striking, powerful, dazzling, irresistibly strange' New York Times

'Marvelous ... a clear-eyed exploration of daughterhood, community, and the human costs of urban development, powered by an immersive portrait of a woman wrestling with the question of whom and what she's willing to sacrifice for the life she wants. This is unforgettable' Publishers Weekly

'Lyrical and lovely' People Magazine

'A stunning and lyrical literary horror novel set in the city of Lagos, Nigeria' Esquire, the 18 Best Books of 2026

'A stunning achievement. Pemi Aguda writes with luminous prose that feels both mystical and human. Brief and powerful, this conceptually daring novel haunted me long after I turned the last page' Abi Daré, author of The Girl with the Louding Voice

'One Leg on Earth gripped me from the first page' Ramona Ausubel, author of The Last Animal

'Breathtaking! The deliciously suspenseful and immensely human One Leg on Earth caught me in its wave. I adored every word in this book' Gerardo Sámano Córdova, author of Monstrilio

'A fearless work of fiction in the lineage of Toni Morrison's Sula'Megan Giddings, author of The Women Could Fly

'Sharp, funny, bold, nuanced, utterly absorbing debut' Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Here Comes the Sun

'One Leg on Earth is an enchantment' Shannon Sanders, author of Company

'A haunting, beautiful novel, written with exquisite care. 'Pemi Aguda writes like she knows magic and, based on this book, I believe it' Victor LaValle, author of Lone Women

'One Leg On Earth is a dizzying tale of the gluttony of industry, the intrigue of newness, and the maddening, frightening and ever-growing desire for belonging. Aguda is a brilliant storyteller, her prose rich with complicated beauty' Rochelle Dowden-Lord, author of Lush

'Dark fantasy meets workplace drama in this immersive debut novel and delightfully fresh take on the pregnancy-as-horror-story trope... ' Oprah Daily