RaveThe Irish Times (IRE)In her debut novel, Wahala, Nikki May has served up a feast for the senses. From the first page, there is sound, colour, taste and smells, dunking the reader in a world that feels riotously alive and wonderfully distant from our current pandemic reality ... Wahala creates a strong and vibrant sense of the Nigerian diaspora experience in London, with Nigerian colloquialisms, slang and turns of phrase peppering the text ... Readers looking to be transported will find Wahala ideal. It is a story of friendships fraying, a past that comes barrelling into the present and a group of friends facing these challenges together. By choosing to have the narrative move between these three different perspectives, we get a close sense of each character. The narration is unguarded and natural, the characters not trying to win the reader’s approval or appear on their best behaviour. It is refreshing to find flawed characters in a story that is, fundamentally, centred on female friendships. You will root for them, shout at them, and laugh with them. It is a winning debut.
