Book Review
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Book reviews in TheLagosReview 2023

Books excite, enchant, transport, inform and expand the universe in multifarious ways.

That is why we pay especial attention to books and the universe of ideas, people and places they present us.

This year was not different as we published over 40 books reviews from well-known and celebrated authors as well as the stars of the future.

Our reviews helped create new audiences by amplifying their voices, messages and ideas.

Below are a few of our stand out reviews for the year:

A Delicate Narrative Debut: A review of Adenrele Niyi’s “There’s a Heaven for Bad Girls” — Anote Ajeluorou

It is the shorthand of prose fiction, the short story form. Its charm lies in its brevity to compress what a full length novel could do in very few words … Continue reading

Deconstructing Prophet Majek Fashek — Isidore Emeka Uzoatu.

Book: Majek Fashek Before And After The Rain (A Memoir of A Rastafarian’s Reign and Ruin) Author: Azuka Jebose Molokwu Publisher: Purple Scroll A book, any one at all, about the late Nigerian musician Majekodunmi Fasheke, better known as Majek Fashek, must concern the rain. O yes, for while he lived and performed, most of his shows almost always coped with an encore of rainfall… Continue reading

The road towards a darkling plain and a poet’s renegotiation of peace — Ajedoyin Olojede

Book title: On a Darkling Plain: An Account of the Nigerian Civil War Author: Ken Saro-Wiwa Publisher: Saros International Publishers Number of pages: 268 Year of publication: 1989 Category: Memoir * “The true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.” — Che Guevara… Continue reading

What A Jolly Ride: A review of Sola Osofisan’s “The Simple Joys of Her Final Days” — Olukorede S Yishau

Sola Osofisan’s most recent book is a collection of a dozen short stories titled The Simple Joys of Her Last Days. Osofisan sets the stories in Nigeria, his nation of birth, and cities around the US, which he now calls home… Continue reading

Teju Cole’s “Tremor” at SouthBank Centre – Toni Kan

Displaying the journalist’s gift for interlocution, Lara led Teju Cole to speak about the long hiatus that spanned the release of his second novel, Open City and Tremor, his third.

Responding, Mr. Cole noted that “I procrastinated by making, like, six books in between Open City and Tremor. I think it was a search for form. When you work in fiction you just don’t pick a form off the shelf.”

The Lagos Review

An Ethical Dilemma of a Returnee Youth: A review of Chinyere Chukwudi-Okeh’s “International Sisi Eko” — Oluwaseun Abimbola, PhD

“International Sisi Eko” is from the collection of Lagos Stories edited by Karen King-Aribisala and Hope Eghagha. The story was made the title of the entire collection, which is made up of stories written by students and lecturers of the University of Lagos… Continue reading

Sefi Atta highlights The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of America – Olukorede S Yishau

The day Lukmon, who holds a doctorate degree in Literature, gets hold of Osaro’s book, he shudders at the lies in it. The book, he admits, is good; the only problem is that it is not non-fiction because almost all the details are made up…

The Lagos Review

Another look at “I Do Not Come To You By Chance” as it becomes a movie – Toni Kan

Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani’s novel, I Do Not Come To You By Chance, is on the surface a novel about the 419 scam,  that hideous criminal fad that blighted the lives of young men in the early to mid-90s. But it is on another score, a rambunctious and delightfully funny novel about an idealistic young engineer who sees his world turned upside down by tragedy and who then finds himself careening down a very unfamiliar and unexpected path… Continue reading

Exemplary history from the source — Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

Courage and Character: The Definitive History of Osun State – Volume 1 of the Osun Trilogy 1951-2018; Published by The Erudio Alphabet Company, Lagos NG101014; 2023; 450pp Not many Nigerians have carried a book that weighs more than 10 litres of petrol. Given what petrol costs today, everybody ought to understand that this heavy book is indeed priceless. The book, Courage and Character: The Definitive History of Osun State, commands universal attention… Continue reading

 

As “I Do Not Come to You by Chance” becomes a movie – Jasper Ugbaa

Following news that Genevieve Nnaji’s movie adaptation of Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani’s novel will premiere at TIFF 2023, we re-present a piece that provides some insights into the book, its outlandish characters, and gripping storyline. Originally published in 2009 by Phoenix Publishers and going on to win the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for Africa among several other awards, I Do Not Come to You by Chance is receiving renewed buzz after being republished by the newly launched Masobe Books in 2019 along … Continue reading

Usman’s gripping memoir navigates stormy waters at NPA — Vay Sylver

Heading the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is a job sought by high-profile individuals. Not only does the lofty position reek of power, but it also gives whoever is steering the ship a vantage point to empower people and personally profit. Understandably, for this reason, it is a slippery terrain where friends may soon become enemies when interests don’t align… Continue reading

A Gripping Account of the Struggles of African Migrants in India: A review of Onyeka Nwelue’s “The Nigerian Mafia Mumbai” — Suleiman Ahmed

Uche aspired to be a Nollywood star but finds himself selling fabrics in Lagos instead. Dissatisfied with what he perceives as a mediocre life, he embarks on a journey to India, hoping to escape Nigeria’s desperate circumstances. However, his expectations are shattered as India proves to be just as unpleasant… Continue reading

Austin Avuru grapples with the heart of the Nigerian matter in collection of essays — Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

Politics, Economics & the Nigerian Petroleum Industry (3rd Edition) Essays by Austin Avuru; RADI8 Ltd, Lagos; 2022; 474pp Let’s start with a confession. This book, Politics, Economics & the Nigerian Petroleum Industry (3rd Edition), Essays by Austin Avuru, has been so engrossing that, after some reading and re-reading, I almost found it too heavy to compress into a review… Continue reading

Choices and Dynamics of Power: A review of I.O. Echeruo’s “Expert in All Styles and Other Stories” — Olukorede S Yishau

One of the first things that may occur to you as you read I.O. Echeruo’s collection of short stories, Expert in All Styles, is that the characters are well-drawn. As you read further, it is unlikely it will be lost on you that his stories are explorations on power, political power, domestic power, religious power and the good and bad to which power is put… Continue reading

Behold the Fire-spitting Woman King: A review of Oyin Olugbile’s “Sanya” — Olukorede S Yishau

In the beginning, Ajoke suddenly wakes up and thoughts of an impending journey to a seer occupy her mind. When they eventually see the seer, he tells them their next child will be a warrior.  When the child arrives, she turns out to be a girl and Aganju, her father, is disappointed. He is convinced the seer’s forecast has not been fulfilled… Continue reading

Ike Anya is making a literary splash “Small by Small” – Toni Kan

Overnight literary success can take more than 10 years to happen. If you don’t believe me, ask Ike Anya, medical doctor, public health expert, thought leader and now wave-making first-time author. His book Small By Small: Becoming a Doctor in 1990’s Nigeria has been hailed as “a small miracle of a book” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and received warmly by family, friends and fans since it was published on May 18, 2023… Continue reading

A magical story of love, hate, redemption and forgiveness: A review of Abubakar Adam Ibrahim’s “When We Were Fireflies” — Olukorede S Yishau

The sophomore novel of Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, the author of the 2016 Nigeria Prize for Literature-winning Season of Crimson Blossoms, is otherworldly. Like his first novel, this new one, When We Were Fireflies, has an opening that can compete as one of the best ever written: “The first time Yarima Lalo saw a train trundling into the Idu Station on a hot June day in Abuja was also the first time it occurred to him that once, many years before, … Continue reading

Truth-Telling and the Metaphorical Nuances of the Pidgin Language: A review of Eriata Oribhabor’s “One Leg Forward, Two Leg Backward” — Iheoma B. Joakin-Uzomba

One Leg Forward, Two Leg Backward; Eriata Oribhabor; Something For Everybody Ventures (SFEV), Surulere, Lagos, 2020; 85pages Eriata Oribhabor’s collection One Leg Forward, Two Leg Backward published in Nigerian Pidgin spans across multifaceted genres, namely: poetry, short prose, conversational prose and lots more. The collection is experimental and revolutionary, so to speak, in form and in content as it criss-crosses the borders of separate genres. One Leg Forward emerged after a critique on the Naija Languaj as far-fetched for the … Continue reading

Revisiting Chimeka Garricks’ “A Broken People’s Playlist” — Olukorede S Yishau

See also

In the dying days of March, book publishing giant Harper Collins did a big favour to lovers of short stories in America and the United Kingdom with the release of the international edition of Chimeka Garricks’ A Broken People’s Playlist.  Readers in Nigeria had the advantage of reading it first… Continue reading

College dreams and teen love find common ground in “Promposal” — Alethea Kontis

“Promposal,” a term born within the last dozen or so years, is exactly what one would imagine it to be: an invitation to the prom that’s wedding-proposal-level romantic and often very public. From rooms full of balloons and lockers filled with ping pong balls to song and dance routines that would make anyone’s heart melt, promposals have become a regular, spectacular high school event… Continue reading

The prophecy of Chukwuemeka Ike’s “Our Children Are Coming” comes true in the Obidient Movement — Sylva Nze Ifedigbo

In the roll call of authors who have effectively used the novel form to interrogate the systematic abuse of the Nigerian society leading to the many ills her citizens continue to endure today, Chukwuemeka Ike deserves a prolonged applause… Continue reading

The Gospel According to the Oppressed: Review of Dulue Mbachu’s “Billy Bisa’s Secrets and Other Stories” — Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

Billy Bisa’s Secrets and Other Stories by Dulue Mbachu; The New Gong Publishers, Lagos; 2022; 143pp   The art of the short story is a very delicate form to master. The great masters of short fiction such as Guy de Maupassant, Anton Chekhov, Isaac Babel, O. Henry, etc. are as relevant today as when they put pen to paper back in time. Dulue Mbachu, with his debut short story collection, Billy Bisa’s Secrets and Other Stories, displays compelling qualities that … Continue reading

 

Ayobami Adebayo’s “A Spell of Good Things” is our lives told in prose — Niran Adedokun

With A Spell of Good Things, Ayobami Adebayo surpasses herself and her debut, Stay With Me.  For starters, the author goes beyond the largely domestic preoccupation of the former, into the more global multifaceted dilemma of Africa’s crawling giant, Nigeria, in this novel. And in that choice, and the treatment of the same, Adebayo displays commendable maturity evident in the admirably deep understanding of her subjects, and outstanding characterisation, delivering an unmistakably impactful novel… Continue reading

 

Not just another immigrant tale: A review of Bisi Adjapon’s “Daughter in Exile” — Olukorede S Yishau

Bisi Adjapon proudly wears three citizenship caps: She is Ghanaian, Nigerian and American. These three powerful countries find voice in her latest novel, Daughter in Exile, released on January 31st, 2023 by HarperVia in America. Set in contemporary America, Senegal, and Ghana, Adjapon’s second novel, on one hand, seems to be screaming against any form of segregation in a world where one’s skin colour isn’t the determinant of whether or not one is good or bad… Continue reading

Compelling verses on colonialism, exile and man’s inhumanity to man: A review of Romeo Oriogun’s “Nomad”— Olukorede S Yishau

From the onset, Nomad, the Nigeria Prize for Literature-winning collection of over sixty poems by Romeo Oriogun, shows something striking, a trend that continues almost till the last poems: travel experiences, colonialism, exile, and man’s inhumanity to man dance from one poem to another. We see memoirs in verses. A number of them are historical, excavating stories from our past, from our ruins, from our regrets, from our excuses and from our lamentations… Continue reading

Motherhood and rewards that children bring, a review of Zain Asher’s “Where the Children Take Us” — Niran Adedokun

These days, you’ll find a multitude of videos about Nigerian mothers and their overbearing, sometimes impossible tendencies on the internet. A substantial number of these are comedic representations, which evoke nostalgia in those with first-hand experiences of the fearsome and intentional mothering of women of this race. But it is a different deal for most youngsters experiencing more permissive parenting, even in the country… Continue reading

A magical journey of ecstasy in Harrison Okhueleigbe’s “Under the moonlight” — Niran Adedokun

Harrison Okhueleigbe’s Under the moonlight starts like the shaky, unsure steps of a toddler. “My mum was standing by the door at the entrance of the house, hands akimbo, yelling for me to come inside.” It opens in the voice of a youngster, terrified by the intrusion of his doting mother… Continue reading

An uncommon death in the family: A review of Yewande Omotoso’s “An Unusual Grief” — Olukorede S Yishau

At the time Mojisola arrives Johannesburg from Cape Town, Yinka—her daughter who leaves home after catching her professor father pants down with his young assistant—is dead and buried.  Yinka was an unhappy child. Right from her teens she had shown signs of depression. Mojisola’s Johannesburg trip is to get to know a daughter long gone. She feels she can find answers in her daughter’s space in the crowded block of flats with a crazy landlady called Zelda.  This is the … Continue reading

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