10 Notable Nigerian books of 2016
2016 was a fantastic and exciting year for Nigerian literature, from bold debuts to bigger and unexpected comebacks, this year’s memorable books were exceptionally rewarding and also distinguished by seriously good writing.
This year’s cover author Toni Kan’s Carnivorous City beautiful story about Lagos shook up what we thought crime fiction writing could do.
In our top 10, a viral memoir by one of Nigeria’s most controversial OAP drove much of this year’s conversation on reading and men are scum literature.
Helen Oyeyemi beautiful short story collection on magic, hearts and love made headlines everywhere for it’s lyrical and bold take on magical realism.
Yewande Omotoso’s profound tale about two women extraordinary friendship became every woman’s anthem for celebrating feminism, friendship, and love.
Teju Cole’s first book of essays on art, literature, and politics, with topics from Virginia Woolf and James Baldwin to President Obama and Boko Haram, turned heads.
Chris Abani’s brilliant memoir provided a perfect and complex sense of identity through a meditation on the face.
By popular demand, here are some of the best Nigerian books for 2016.
1. The Carnivorous City by Toni Kan
This book narrates the story of a Lagos big boy who disappears without a trace. His older brother, a teacher, arrives in Lagos to look for his missing brother only to be sucked into the unforgiving Lagos maelstrom where he has to navigate encounters with a motley cast of common criminals, deal with policemen all intent on getting a piece of the pie, and contend with his growing attraction to his brother’s wife.
The carnivorous city is a transfixing story about love, Lagos and the people who inhabit this predatory city.
4.5/5 Stars
2. Face, A Cartography of the Void by Chris Abani
In this book, Abani meditates on his own face, beginning with his early childhood as an Igbo, in Nigeria. The Face is a lush work of art that teems with original and profound insights into the role of race, culture, and language in fashioning our sense of self. Abani’s writing is poetic, filled with stories, jokes, and reflections that draw readers into his fold; he invites them to explore their own “faces” and the experiences that have shaped them.
This simple yet complicated memoir provided a perfect and complex sense of identity through a meditation on the face, creating a self-portrait in which readers will also see their own faces reflected.
4.5/5 Stars
3. Known and Strange Things by Teju Cole
Teju Cole’s first book of essays speaks volume on art, literature, and politics, with topics from Virginia Woolf and James Baldwin to President Obama and Boko Haram.
It turns the conventions of an essay inside out. It is more than the portrait of an unusual photographer or writer, it is an exploration of why arts/books are important, how we are made and unmade in the stories we tell about our lives.
4.5/5 Stars
4. The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso
Set in an overwhelmingly white suburb of Cape Town in post-apartheid South Africa, this witty and nuanced study of two old ladies coming to terms with their past and with each other is both amusing and thought-provoking. Yewande Omotoso’s profound book celebrates feminism, friendship, and love, in a way we have never experienced before.
4/5 Stars.
5. Never Look an American in the Eye by Okey Ndibe
‘Okey Ndibe’s funny, charming, and penetrating memoir offers powerful insights into the trials, prospects, and triumphs of being a Nigerian immigrant in America.
It recounts stories of Ndibe’s relationships with Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, and other literary figures; examines the differences between Nigerian and American etiquette and politics; recalls an incident of racial profiling just thirteen days after he arrived in the US, in which he was mistaken for a bank robber; considers American stereotypes about Africa (and vice-versa); and juxtaposes African folk tales with Wall Street trickery.
It is a delightful, absorbing memoir about cultural identity, one man’s relentless pursuit of knowledge, and the struggle to honor your roots while also choosing a new life.
4/5 Stars.
6. What is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi
This collection of short stories is described as playful, ambitious, and exquisitely imagined, What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours is cleverly built around the idea of keys, literal and metaphorical. The key to a house, the key to a heart, the key to a secret — Oyeyemi’s keys not only unlock elements of her characters’ lives, they promise further labyrinths on the other side.
Oyeyemi is a masterful writer and this mesmerizing short story collection is a testament to her greatness.
3.5/5 Stars.
7. Easy Motion Tourist by Leye Adenle
Easy Motion Tourist is a seriously compelling, gripping, and shocking crime novel set in contemporary Lagos.
This book is not only brutal and violent, it makes us empathize with sex workers who are trapped in a life where selling their bodies is the only alternative to destitution. Adenle gives these women a face and a voice and a story of their own.
3.5/5 Stars.
8. The Chibok Girls by Helon Habila
An empathetic inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the 2014 kidnapping of 276 Chibok girls by the terrorist group Boko Haram. This book provides poignant portraits of everyday Nigerians whose lives have been transformed by extremist forces. Habila illuminates the long history of colonialism — and unmasks cultural and religious dynamics — that gave rise to the conflicts that have ravaged the North to this day.
Kirkus review described it as an informative primer on Nigeria’s history of Islamist conflict and a passionate testimonial on behalf of the 218 Chibok girls still missing.
3.5/5 Stars.
9. And After Many Days by Jowhor Ile
Set in the bustling town of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, this is a story of how a family’s life is disrupted by the sudden disappearance of seventeen-year-old Paul Utu, beloved brother, and son. This book became even more spectacular after Queen Chimamanda Adichie verified him.
3/5 Stars
10. On Becoming by Toke Makinwa
The men are scum memoir that made 2016 so memorable. This book tells the no hold barred tale of how Lagos big boy Maje, maltreated and cheated on his wife Toke Makinwa. He not only cheated, he impregnated a woman outside his matrimonial home. Allowing Toke to be ridiculed by gossip blogs, made her a feast for Internet trolls and made her loose huge endorsement deals.
This book emerged from a depth that is very personal, as such, pure, true and very easily relatable. And of course this book made Nigerians read again.
2.5/5 Stars
Honourable Mentions
Taduno’s Song by Odafe Otagun
Based on the life of the musician, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Taduno’s song finally gave us the perfect closure for Fela’s death. He was broken, tortured emotionally and eventually murdered by the government.
Taduno’s song tells a beautiful story of how a guitarist/musician gave his life and everything he owned/loved for his country and it’s people.
3/5 Stars
Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun by Sarah Ladipo-Manyika
This book tells the story of Dr. Morayo Da Silva, a 75-year-old Nigerian woman living in San Francisco. This short novel follows her, her family, friends, neighbors, community and her love for books.
This book is described as a subtle story about aging, friendship and loss, and also a nuanced study of the erotic yearnings of an older woman.
3/5 Stars
Is your favourite on the list? If not, then please share so we can jump on it.
Please compliment this list with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Teju Cole, Taiye Selasi’s best reads of 2016
Originally published at pulse.ng on December 16, 2016.
