While writing JAMB, you probably stumbled on Nigerian books that were not written by Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe or Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
They are great writers but if you are yet to read beyond that, there is more you have not discovered.
I would have made it ‘African Literature’ but I am still working on that list. You might be in the look for books to read after learning these tips on reading more books.
Nigeria is blessed with AMAZING writers. Don’t ever doubt that.
I love reading books by Nigerian and broadly African writers. There is something beautiful and profound about reading from our shared experiences, home, and how heavily I can relate to it. Not that I don’t enjoy books from writers outside this but I always find my heart yearning for something similar.
If you want to start reading books from more Nigerian writers and even your deep dive into African Literature, this is a good place to start.
Here are some amazing Nigerian books I will recommend:
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lola Shoneyin:
This is one book that tops my list when recommending Nigerian books or African Literature. Read it first or later but read it.
Synopsis
The Secret Lives of Babi Segi’s Wives, a perceptive, entertaining, and eye-opening novel of polygamy in modern-day Nigeria. The struggles, rivalries, intricate family politics, and the interplay of personalities and relationships within the complex private world of a polygamous union come to life in The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives—Big Love and The 19th Wife set against a contemporary African background.
Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo:
This book is amazing, that is all I have to say.
Synopsis
Yejide is hoping for a miracle, for a child. It is all her husband wants, all her mother-in-law wants, and she has tried everything. But when her relatives insist upon a new wife, it is too much for Yejide to bear. Unravelling against the social and political turbulence of 1980s Nigeria, Stay With Me is a story of the fragility of married love, the undoing of family, the power of grief, and the all-consuming bonds of motherhood. It is a tale about the desperate attempts we make to save ourselves, and those we love, from heartbreak.
Daughters Who Walked This Path by Yejide Kilanko:
Synopsis
The Secret Lives of Babi Segi’s Wives, a perceptive, entertaining, and eye-opening novel of polygamy in modern-day Nigeria. The struggles, rivalries, intricate family politics, and the interplay of personalities and relationships within the complex private world of a polygamous union come to life in The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives—Big Love and The 19th Wife set against a contemporary African background.
Tomorrow Died Yesterday by Chimeka Garricks:
If you want to enjoy delicious storytelling, read this book.
Synopsis
It’s 2004 Port Harcourt at the height of the kidnap of oil workers in the Niger Delta, a kidnapping goes awry and four lives are reconnected. Douye aka Doughboy the career militant responsible for the crime. Amaibi the gentle university professor / eco-warrior accused. Kaniye the lawyer turned restaurateur who tries to get him off and Tubo an amoral oil company executive. Against a backdrop of corrupt practises, failed systems and injustice, these four friends tell the story of oil in a region and its effects on local communities
Not Just Another Interlude by Lara T. Kareem:
If you love romance books or just in search of a book to immerse yourself in but do not know where to start, this is the book for you.
Synopsis
Sewa’s decision to steer her love life in the direction she wants instantly backfires, prompting her to halt her quest for love and focus on other more important things like getting a job. Fate has its own plan and puts her in the path of the man of her dreams, Jide.
Jide isn’t afraid to go after what he wants. Crossing Sewa’s path more than once, he doesn’t leave it up to chance because there is something special about her.
When their budding relationship suffers a huge blow, Jide will have to prove that love is worth fighting for, to Sewa.
The Curse of Happiness by Edify Yakusak:
Synopsis
The Curse of Happiness is a collection of short stories that finds ordinary people struggling and sometimes failing in extraordinary circumstances.
From a woman faced with a long-awaited but ultimately underwhelming miracle in “Baby Blue Joy” to a man who finds himself face to face with humanity’s most terrifying manifestation, an enraged mob, in “What is mine is Yours”.
Yakusak stretches the limits of the normal human perception of the decisions people take in situations beyond their control. It’s an in-depth examination of the human psyche that is both intriguing and disturbing on a level that interacts with the inner reaches of our subconscious.
The Curse of Happiness weaves exciting stories of how normalcy is a luxury in reality; one we often take for granted.
Easy Motion Tourist by Leye Denle:
If you are in search of Nigerian books that is crime related, I will recommend this trilogy.
Synopsis
Easy Motion Tourist is a compelling crime novel set in contemporary Lagos. It features Guy Collins, a British hack who stumbles by chance into the murky underworld of the city.
A woman’s mutilated body is discarded by the side of a club near one of the main hotels in Victoria Island. Collins, a bystander, is picked up by the police as a potential suspect.
After experiencing the unpleasant realities of a Nigerian police cell, he is rescued by Amaka, a Pam Grier-esque Blaxploitation heroine with a saintly streak. As Collins discovers more of the darker aspects of what makes Lagos tick – including the clandestine trade in organs – he also falls slowly for Amaka. Little do they realise how the body parts business is wrapped up in the power and politics of the city. The novel features a motley cast of supporting characters, including a memorable duo of low-level Lagos gangsters, Knockout and Go-Slow. Easy Motion Tourist pulsates with the rhythms of Lagos, reeks of its open drains, and entertains from beginning to end. A modern thriller featuring a strong female protagonist, prepared to take on the Nigerian criminal world on her own.
Do you want more book recommendations? Let me know in the comment section. Keep reading,