Happiness, Like Water

Chinelo Okparanta is a Nigerian writer who immigrated to the United States at the age of ten. Her literary work often explores the intersections of Nigerian traditions, religious morality, and personal identity. She gained significant recognition when her short story, "America," was named a finalist for the 2013 Caine Prize for African Writing, as noted on Goodreads.

Happiness, Like Water is a debut collection of ten short stories that examine the lives of Nigerian women residing both in Nigeria and the United States. According to The Common, the narratives focus on the domestic sphere where happiness remains essential yet elusive. The settings frequently shift between the United States and the Niger Delta city of Port Harcourt, a location characterized by oil slicks, random power cuts, and a longing for Western ideals of beauty.

The collection addresses the tension between personal desire and cultural mandates, particularly regarding marriage and the expectation to produce children. In the story "Wahala!", a woman named Ezinne and her husband visit a dibia, or healer, to address her barrenness, highlighting the social pressure to maintain a husband's name through offspring as discussed by the Lambda Literary Review. Other narratives explore LGBTQ relationships that challenge traditional social conventions, while others depict the influence of wealth and corruption, such as the "Yahoo Boys" who appear in sleek cars amidst the pollution of the oil industry, as described by Kirkus Reviews.