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"The Tejuosho bus stop is a stone’s throw from where I stand. It is a tangle of traffic – mostly danfos and molues – that one might be tempted to describe as one of the densest spots of human activity in the city, if only there weren’t so many others: Ojuelegba, Ikeja, Oshodi, Isolo, Ketu, Ojota". (Teju Cole, 'Every Day is for The Thief' p.150)

This month I'm celebrating Nigeria's literary history and my second post pays homage to the city where I was born and raised, which as the quote above shows can be pretty dense. I love cities and I've always been fascinated by them - probably why I study them in the context of development. I also love how you can learn about new cities through the work of fiction. So if you've never been to Lagos, what better way to explore the city than through the pages of a novel. 

For this list, I'm focusing solely on books in my library - which means I'll probably miss out on quite a bit (e.g. Odio Ofeimun’s Lagos of the Poets). As I'm looking at books published since 1960 I am unable to include Cyprian Ekwensi’s People of the City (1956). I also was not sure whether to include books that begin in Lagos and then spend the rest of the story in a different place (e.g. A Squatter's Tale by Ike Oguine and Eyo by Abidemi Sanusi). In the end, I decided to include the books that are either solely set in Lagos or at least spend a substantial amount of time there. 


These books tell tales of Lagos from Independence to present day, with the military years in between. There are stories of corruption, the stark contrast between rural and urban life, young love, slums and street life, the informal economy, challenging tradition, high society, power cuts, public transport and traffic. To borrow the title of the 2010 BBC documentary 'Welcome to Lagos'. I hope you enjoy it. 

No Longer At Ease by Chinua Achebe (1960)

The story of Obi Okonkwo, the grandson of Okonkwo from Things Fall Apart who returnd to Nigeria after four years studying English in England. He gets a job as a civil servant in Lagos and here is where corruption (which is made all the more easier by the moral and physical isolation of family in a big city like Lagos) comes a-knocking. There's also a focus on how the growth of post-Independent Lagos is money and the desire for prosperity and money - something not found in rural Nigeria.



The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta (1979)

Through the life of Nnu Ego, 
The Joys of Motherhood explores what it means to be a mother (and a woman) in a Nigeria where traditions and customs are changing. Largely set in Lagos, we also get to see the contrast between rural Ibuza (traditional values and lifestyles are maintained here) and urban Lagos (traditional values succumb to the pressures of Western education, capitalism and the mixing of different ethnicities and cultures. 


Waiting for an Angel by Helon Habila (2002)

Set in Lagos in the 90s during military rule, Waiting for an Angel is based around Lomba - a young aspiring writer and poet working for a local newspaper and now political prisoner. Through a number or interconnected short stories we not only learn about Lomba's life as a prisoner, but also his life prior to becoming one. Like the Lagos neighbourhood of 'Poverty Street' where he lives and his neighbours, as well as general life in Lagos during the military regime - curfews, petrol scarcity and subsequent queues, jungle justice. To further show the ability of literature to introduce you to aspects of a city's history, there is a part in the story where Lomba visits the old slave port of Badagry.


Graceland by Chris Abani (2004)

Elvis, is a teenager living in the slums of Lagos with his father, his girlfriend and her kids. He spends his days not in school but on the beach trying to make a living as an Elvis impersonator. As his job as does not seem to make him enough money, he turns into a life of crime - thanks to his friend Redemption. More than life in a Lagos slum, this one shows the influence of American culture (music, film ... Elvis) on a young boy in Nigeria. 


Everything Good Will Come by Sefi Atta (2005)

Set in Nigeria (well Lagos) and then the UK and then back to Nigeria again, Everything Good Will Come (told through Enitan) is about an unlikely friendship between Enitan and Sheri which starts from childhood and continues to adulthood. Their friendship may form the backdrop, but this novel gives a sense of life in Lagos and of Lagosians. Similar to Waiting for an Angel, it is set during a time of military rule in Nigeria. 



Every Day is for The Thief by Teju Cole (2007)
Part-fiction, part-memoir, Every Day is for The Thief is an account of a Nigerian returning home - to Lagos - after many years in the States. It explores the narrators experiences of contemporary Lagos life. Power cuts, noisy generators, traffic, bus conductors, bookshops, corruption, the Muson centre, the Jazzhole and the slave trade. Possibly one of my favourite books on Lagos. 
London Life, Lagos Living by Bobo Omotayo (2011) 

This is a collection of 37 short Lagos-life observations turned 'stories'. If you ever wanted to know how the other half lives. By that I mean the wayfarer wearing, Veuve Clicquot drinking, social climbers in Lagos high society this satire on today's Lagosians - where image is everything - does just that. 

The Spider King's Daughter by Chibundu Onuzo (2012) 

A tale of young love in modern-day Lagos. 17-year old Abike Johnson is the daughter of the Spider King - Olumide Johnson, a business tycoon. On the other side of the city is Runner G, a street hawker selling ice-cream ob the busy Lagos roads. An unlikely friendship develops between Abike and Runner G which blossoms into love. The novel comes alive in its descriptions of Lagos and portrayal of a street hawker's life, the informal economy, the surroundings in which hawkers and most of the urban poor in Lagos live in. 

Love is Power, or Something Like That by A. Igoni Barrett (2013)

There are nine stories in this collection and while not all are set in Lagos (or even Nigeria - one is set in Nairobi), Lagos does run through Love is Power. There's The Dream Chaser  about a young boy who spends his days in a cyber cafe pretending to be a woman and online and possibly one of my favourite short stories on Lagos, My Smelling Mouth Problem, on the daily troubles a young commuter faces getting around Lagos thanks to his 'smelling mouth'.



11:35 2 Comments
African Roar 2013 is the fourth Anthology from StoryTime, which was first published in 2010. It has been described as 'a multi-genre annual anthology of African authors'. The fourth anthology is edited by Emmanuel Sigauke - the founding editor of Munyori Literary Journal. 

African Roar 2013 contains 13 beautiful short stories which took me on a journey I enjoyed so much that I devoured it in one sitting. It was also a nice treat at the end of each story to find out more about the authors behind them.  While I was drawn to some stories more than other, I found that as a whole this was a strong collection with well-thought out and well-written pieces. I could go into each and every story, but then that would spoil it for anyone who wants to read it. Instead I'll say a little bit on a few of the stories in this anthology. But first, thank you to Ivor Hartmann for the review copy.

My favourite would have to be Home  by Alison Erlwanger, especially becasue of its theme of African identity and figuring out where your home is. I really enjoyed this and found this to be a great opener which set the tone for the rest of the Anthology. Fungisai (a coloured woman from Zimbabwe) and Neville (her Nigerian boyfriend) both live in America. I say coloured not to be offensive but becasue Fungisai called herself coloured as 'mixed felt like a borrowed term to conform ro American interpretations of such a fluid identity' (p.6). Reading it made me think about what it means to be African. Fungisai with her thick lush locks  and 'coloured' identity was not 'African' enough in some circles, like Neville's Nigerian academic elite friends. Which begs the question, what is African enough? What does an African look like? And are you less African if only half of you is African? 

I also loved the way there was a seamless transition between the three characters in the story. When it first begun I thought it would be all about Fungisai, but then part way we move to Neville's perspective and then as the story goes on we get introduced to a third character -  Neville's ex-girlfriend (and first love) whose memory he can't shake. So while Fungisai is focused on her hair and identity, Neville is caught up with seeing his first love for the first time in year. And his ex? She's interested in 'fine wine and beautiful jewellery' (p.22). A lot can happen in one night, as shown in this story, but it does end with Fungisai claiming 'Africa is an ideology'  for both her and Neville as they both have not been there for ten years but still having it 'in our minds, in our arguments, in our dissapointments' (p.24).

Speaking of transitions, Transitions by Barbara Mhangami-Ruwende was another story I enjoyed. In Transitions, we see the changes in Portia's life from 1979 when she was seven and her family moved from Luveve - a black neighbourhood with 'radios blasting the music of the Soul Brothers, children playing on the streets, and vendor hawking Ice Mints, Bazooka bubble gums, and matches' (p.83) - to Killarney - a quiet, all-white suburb.  Portia did make a friend - with Theo - the kid next door, but they could only play when his parents were not around. To understand this you need to be aware that Portia's family were the only black family in this all-white neighbourhood - the only other black people were maids, gardeners or cooks. Moving to this new neighbourhood also changed Portia's family, as they never quite fit in. Her mother did not want clothes dried on the bougaineillea bush infront of the kitchen, 'Do you want these people to think we are filthy pigs?' (p.87), her parents argued for the frirst time and their mother constantly fussed over their state of cleanliness. As time goes on the neighbourhood changes and we read how this quiet, sleepy suburb transitions into a busy bustling place. 

Another story with the theme of race was Green Eyes and an Old Photo by Ola Nubi - although this was about a man looking back on his time in England when he was younger. Here is where he met his first wife, and possibly his real love, on a cold day when he was being harrassed by four or five men who threw racial slurs and asked 'blackie to clear off and go back to your country where you live in trees?' (p.160). It is interesting how something so negative (racism) can somehow lead to something so positive (true love). Sandra (who eventually became his wife) might have assumed Nigeria was closer to Jamaica, asked if he lived with lions and tigers and was very impressed that he talked posh, but despite her ignorance they were both curious about each other. Plus, they both loved the Beatles. They did experience more racism - occassional looks and dissapprovign glances from outsiders, and it did not help that her family also did not approve of the relationship. All this we learn (and more) as he looks back on this time in his life while staring at the green eyes in the old photo. 

The Faces of Fate by Abdulghani Sheikh Hassan was an interesting tale which made me wonder if I am where I thought I would be as a child (not, really). The story starts with the female narrator who shares a desk with 'the two most jovial girls in the class, Njeri and Atieno' (p. 55). Atieno and the female narrator both wanted to be accountants and Njeri a pilot. As the story unfolds we see the path her life goes down, which is nowhere close to  what she envisioned as she sat in class with Njeri and Atieno. As her life unfolds she would imagine that Atieno was pursuing an accounting course in Kenya's finest college. I found this aspect interesting because of the fact that sometimes if we are not where we thought we would be as children we end up assuming that everyone else is doing better than you and living up to their childhood dreams and expectations. Yet a chance encounter with Atieno and Njeri, and them sharing their experiences, makes our female narrator realise just how different all their paths became.

I really enjoyed reading this anthology and I found it refreshing. I will hold my hand up and say I haven't had the chance to read the first three African Roar Anthologies - and I should probably do so - especially as I am such an admirer of Ivor Hartmann, StoryTime and the work he does regarding original short story fiction from both new and established writers. Thank you also to Emmanuel Sigauke for editing this beautiful volume. I didn't get the chance to read his introduction to the anthology, but it would have been great to know his perspective and thoughts on the stories and the threads he saw weaving through the anthology.  All that's left is to say is grab a copy. The e-book, if I'm not mistaken, is out now.

4  out of 5 stars. 
08:29 1 Comments
A couple of weeks ago I decided enough was enough. I had been working in Brighton for about six weeks, but due to commuting from London all I had seen was the train station. 

So I made a decision  to spend a weekend exploring what the other city I'm going to spend a lot of my time in had to offer - and I absolutely loved it. It also helped that it was a lovely, sunny weekend - everything is so much better with a little sunshine. While I didn't plan to, I obviously ended up finding one bookstore, and then another, and then another. 

The first one I walked into was PSBrighton, in North Laine, which sold some amazingly beautiful art and design books at ridiculously low prices. I forgot to take a picture of the store front- which had a brick foundation, red frames and huge windows. The inside was as spectacular. 



Next was Brighton Books - also in North Laine - a second hand bookshop spread over two floors. Hard-wood floors, books from floor to ceilings. The shopkeeper was in his own little world doing his own thing - didn't really pay attention to anyone in the store. It also had a good selection of books -  fiction, art, poetry, memoirs, travel, cookbooks. 



By far my favourite was Kemptown Bookshop a stunning independent bookshop in Kemptown. 
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Biafran Refugee Camp
http://www.nairaland.com/582396/biafra-nigerian-civil-war-pictures
Believing I would be able to get tickets to Half of a Yellow Sun at the BFI London Film Festival, a few weeks ago I read the book so everything would be fresh in my mind when I watched the movie. Obviously I didn't get any tickets - it was sold out by the time I went to book - but it does inspire my first Independence celebratory posts. 

It has been said that Nigeria's Civil War (or the Biafran War), which was fought between 1967 - 1970, spawned a large body of literature in Nigeria. In a post I did last year, I briefly mentioned this when I listed Elechi Amadi's Sunset in Biafra (1973), Chukuemeka Ike’s Sunset at Dawn (1976), and Flora Nwapa’s Never Again (1976). I won't be going into the themes and sub-themes these texts explore - although, if you want more detail read this excellent article on The Nigerian Civil War and the Literary Imagination. As usual this is not an exhaustive list, but if you're interested in finding out more about Nigeria's civil war, here's a look at some of the literary works over the last four decades that have been inspired by the war and its aftermath. 


09:21 1 Comments
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About me

Founded in 2011, bookshy represents two things: the young me who was so shy I escaped through books, and the older me whose shelf is always one book shy of being full.

bookshy is a space where I celebrate, promote and recognise contemporary African literature - although sometimes I go back in time to commemorate the greats. It is about the books I love, the books I have read and the books that I am dying to read.

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