Victor Ehikhamenor returns to book-length literature with Central Hotel, his first collection of short fiction.
Published by Masobe Books, the 276-page collection, which launches at the J. Randle Centre, Lagos Island, on Saturday, October 31, with a reading and conversation hosted by writer and poet Wana Udobang, weaves 11 interconnected stories, each with the author’s own pencil illustrations, into a vivid mosaic of a single community and its diaspora, from childhood to adulthood, from Lagos to America. From military rule to migration, faith to trafficking, power to survival, the Nigerian artist and writer charts lives caught between promise and price.
In “I Put a Spell on You,” Halimat leaves her faith for intimacy in America and finds that love can also be a structure of control. In “Madam,” young women are trafficked across borders under the promise of education and turned into debt. In the title story, two boys arrive at a faded roadside hotel expecting a rite of passage and learn that lost innocence does not grow back the same.
Early readers have been warm. E.C. Osondu, winner of the Caine Prize, says the stories “walk gently but they carry a big stick.” A. Igoni Barrett calls Ehikhamenor a “maestro of reinvention,” writing about a globalised culture rooted in African ways of inhabiting history. Sarah Ladipo Manyika praises the “painter’s eye” he brings to the page, and Chris Abani points to a viscerality and urgency that are rare in literary circles. Maud Casey calls the collection clear-eyed about the consequences of colonialism, capitalism, and white supremacy, while praising its tenderness, love, and playful wit.
Several of the stories have appeared elsewhere. “The Supreme Command” received a Highly Commended Award from the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, “Who Will Bury the Dead” ran in Wasafiri, “Passport to Heaven” in Farafina, and “A Picture from Ireland” in AGNI. “Madam” was shown alongside Ehikhamenor’s Postcards from Italy drawings at the 56th Venice Biennale.
Born in Nigeria, Ehikhamenor is an artist, photographer, and writer who has built a career on the global art stage, including the Apollo 40 award. His literary roots go back to a BA in English and Literature and an MFA in Creative Writing. His fiction and essays have appeared in outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, BBC, and CNN Online. He returns to book-length literature 14 years after Excuse Me!, his collection of satirical essays, which is a recommended text at two Nigerian universities. He is also founder and creative director of Angels and Muse in Lagos, a creative residency devoted to contemporary African art and literature.
•Featured image: Victor Ehikhamenor/supplied