LARB Book Club Discussion: “One Leg on Earth” by ’Pemi Aguda

Join LARB staff and members in conversation about the latest Book Club pick, ’Pemi Aguda's One Leg on Earth! A haunting debut novel, One Leg on Earth offers a chilling vision of the dark side of progress alongside an exploration of motherhood. The conversation will take place on July 29, 2026, at 6 p.m. PT, via Zoom. Log in to your account before registering for the discussion here.

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Something is haunting the pregnant women of Lagos. Across the city, they are walking into water . . . and drowning.

Twenty-three-year-old Yosoye arrives in Lagos ready to start her life. Working for a slick architectural firm, she finds a city of adventure and opportunity. Her new world is one of fancy gallery openings, glamorous friends, and all the shiny potential of the future, encapsulated in projects like Omi City, the ultra-luxury development her company is building, a symbol of the dawn of a brighter Lagos.

But Yosoye’s idyllic vision of Lagos soon begins to seem naive, and its darker, stranger layers trouble her. Something is not right about Omi City, and as construction speeds ahead, stories of strange deaths in the city’s open waters reach a fever pitch. And then, after a chance encounter, Yosoye discovers she is pregnant . . . a revelation which puts her on a collision course with an inexplicable force that is as seductive as it is deadly. A masterwork by a writer hailed as “an astonishing talent” (Lauren Groff), One Leg on Earth is an ambitious novel like no other: a coming-of-age story, an uncanny exploration of motherhood, and a chilling vision of the dark side of progress.

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"A stunning and lyrical literary horror novel set in the city of Lagos, Nigeria, where rumors contend that pregnant women are inexplicably walking into bodies of water and drowning themselves. When a 23-year-old woman named Yosoye arrives in Lagos to start her career at a prestigious architectural firm helping build Omi City—a luxury development on reclaimed land—she soon discovers her own pregnancy. Aguda was a finalist for her 2024 short story collection Ghostroots, but One Leg on Earth is even more richly imagined and deftly executed." —Adam Morgan, Esquire

"A fearless work of fiction in the lineage of Toni Morrison’s Sula. 'Pemi Aguda writes beautifully about the ways realities can break and why they sometimes should be shattered." —Megan Giddings, author of Meet Me at the Crossroads

"Suspenseful and immensely human, One Leg on Earth caught me in its wave and I happily, greedily tumbled along." —Gerardo Sámano Córdova, author of Monstrillo

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’Pemi Aguda is the author of One Leg on Earth and Ghostroots, a finalist for the National Book Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the PEN/Faulkner Award. Trained as an architect in Lagos, Nigeria, she lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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LARB Benefactor-level members receive a free copy with their membership and access to the discussion. All other members are invited to join the discussion and purchase a copy of One Leg on Earth at a bookstore near you, or through our partnership with Bookshop.org. Check out the latest membership newsletter for the 10% off discount code with Bookshop.org, or email [email protected]

If you are not a Benefactor member, please upgrade or join to access member-only perks, like the LARB Classic Tote, a subscription to our signature print magazine, conversations with LARB editors and members, and more. Join the LARB Book Club and support the work of LARB staff and writers.

If you have questions or thoughts about the book that you want to address during the discussion, please email [email protected] before July 29, 2026.