Landlocked and with an economy reliant on subsistence agriculture, Niger often comes into the public eye only as example of deprivation and insecurity. Urban centers have become concentrated areas of unemployment filled with young men bored and idle, trying, against all odds, to find meaning where little is given. At the heart of Adeline Masquelier’s groundbreaking book is the fada—conversation groups where men gather to talk, play cards, listen to music, and drink tea. As a place where young men forge new forms of sociability and belonging outside the arena of work, the fada is an integral part of Niger’s urban landscape. By considering the fada as a site of experimentation, Masquelier offers a nuanced depiction of how young men in urban Niger engage in the quest for recognition and reinvent their own masculinity in the absence of conventional avenues to self-realization. In an era when fledgling and advanced economies alike are struggling to support meaningful forms of employment, this book offers a timely glimpse into how to create spaces of stability, respect, and creativity despite precarious conditions.

Adeline Masquelier is professor of anthropology at Tulane University.