The Looming Fog is the 2006

2006 in literature

The year 2006 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Literature:*Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Half of a Yellow Sun*Chris Adrian - The Children's Hospital *Martin Amis - House of Meetings...

 debut novel

Debut novel

A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...

 by the Niger

Niger

Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...

ian writer, Rosemary Esehagu

Rosemary Esehagu

Rosemary Esehagu is a Nigerian writer. She was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, to a family of six children. In 1997, she came to the United States to advance her education. She attended Williams College, a prestigious liberal arts school in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where she majored in...

. The story follows the life of an intersex

Intersex

Intersex, in humans and other animals, is the presence of intermediate or atypical combinations of physical features that usually distinguish female from male...

 child as they struggle to live in a pre-colonial village in Nigeria that considers the anomaly an abomination.

Through this nameless protagonist

Protagonist

A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

 and narrator

Narrator

A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...

, one becomes aware of other members of this small society, including the second main character, Kayinne, who is the only surviving child of an elderly couple. She must battle with her society concerning her desire to become a healer — a major taboo for a woman in Nigerian society.