Esther Aluko: 9 Nigerian Books you should read.

Esther Aluko has been so kind as to provide us here @ mumbe digest with book recommendations! She is a book and TV show blogger with a very impressive repertoire of content, and a great inspiration to me as a budding blogger. My personal favourite article from her blog STHA is Who Gets Away with Murder in 'How to get away with murder'

We've included 5 of her 9 recommendations, and hope that if you'd like to see the rest you'll pop a look at her blog! You can find her on Twitter and Instagram.

9 BOOKS WRITTEN BY NIGERIANS YOU SHOULD READ

Apart from being rich in oil, I believe that one thing Nigeria should definitely be known for is the richness

of its literature. Well, it's almost impossible to overlook the richness of the Nigerian culture more or less

its origins which many Nigerian writers haven't only explored but incessantly keep exploring to produce

ART. The Nigerian Literary industry is filled with sheer excellence and I honestly love to see it.

Fun Fact: One of the things I'm proud of about Nigeria is its Creative industry and its community of

growing and emerging writers.So in this post, I have put together 9 beautiful books (fiction) written by

Nigerians that you should definitely read.

1. STAY WITH ME- AYOBAMI ADEBAYO

In this intriguing debut, Ayobami Adebayo brings to fore a story about a Nigerian Couple who have been

married for some years but are unable to give birth to children. In this story, the author firmly paints a

picture of the traditional significance and necessity of a child in African (Nigerian) marriages. Even

though the struggle of the protagonist reads like a familiar story yet its magic reveals in how effortlessly

the author made us care about the characters. You know its a good story when it not only succeeds in

taking you into its world while reality takes a backseat but also when it stays with you longer than

expected

2. THE FISHERMEN- CHIGOZIE OBIOMA

In his debut, Chigozie Obioma from the perspective of a young man named Benjamin tells a tale of four

Nigerian brothers from a close-knit family, their prophetic encounter with a madman and the

devastating effect that one moment can generate. Set in Nigeria in the '90s when the country was under

the military rule of General Sani Abacha it recounts the story and fall of the Agwu family. In The

Fishermen, Obioma skillfully mixes national unrest, westernization and modernity. I'm screaming right

now for you to go and read this book. It's a good one.

3. THE SECRET LIVES OF BABA SEGI'S WIVES

All hail the chief of humour, mixed with an important story. In this book, Shoneyin shows us her

storytelling prowess as she takes us on a heartfelt journey into the life of Baba Segi. The story sheds light

on the ills of polygamy in a familiar way and has an easy plot which makes the story easy to follow.

Through this book, Shoneyin was able to answer to a large extent the question of women who are

complicit in perpetuating patriarchy being most of the time a survival tactic. I love this book and I'm

really excited about the news of its adaptation in works with Netflix.

4. WHAT IT MEANS WHEN A MAN FALLS FROM THE SKY BY LESLEY NNEKA ARIMAH

This is a collection of 12 beautifully written unpretentious short stories about people and relationships.

It is rare to find a collection of short stories where you enjoy and dot on each and every one of them and

this is what Lesley delivers to you on a platter of gold. Some of the stories are morbid, some contain

dark humour and she sometimes experiments with dystopia. It is written in dream-like prose and the

only bad thing about this book is that it ends.

5. BORN ON A TUESDAY- ELNATHAN JOHN

In Born on a Tuesday, Elnathan John takes us on a worthwhile journey where we get a glimpse of what

it's like in contemporary Northern Nigeria. It is a coming of age story which tells the tale of a young boy

Dantala who ran away from home. Dantala literally translates to Born on a Tuesday in his parent's

language. In this book, John aptly captures life in the north with sweeping themes like poverty, mob

violence, army brutality, corruption, religious indoctrination and extremism. Beautifully written with

great and vivid imagery, Born on a Tuesday is a deeply moving and heartfelt debut from one of Nigeria's

finest authors.