What is your current read? Already wondering which would be your next? Or you aren’t reading anything yet? Whatever category you belong to, these are some of the books you should be reading. Let’s get you sorted. Here are 5 Nigerian book with high recommendations you should definitely be reading, if you have not read them.
Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
Ella can see things that haven’t happened yet. As her power grows stronger, her brother Kev tries to protect her from it but is jailed. While witnessing all the injustice around her and watching her brother suffer in jail, Ella struggles to hold back her power and all the rage and hope it brings.
A book about family, racism, power, and revolution, Riot Baby will have you asking some important questions.
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
This is the tale of Vivek Oji. It begins with his end, his naked body shrouded on his mother’s doorstep, and moves backwards through time to unpick the story of his life and the mystery surrounding his death.
As compulsively readable as it is tender and potent, this is a fresh, engaging novel about the innocence of youth and how it clashes with culture and expectation.
The Mechanics of Yenogoa by Michael Afenfia
A weekly blog series turned into a novel, it follows the adventures of Ebinimi, a mechanic of Kalakala Street. From getting caught in love triangles to run-ins with crooked politicians and assassins, Ebinimi gets into all kinds of stories as we explore Yenagoa through his eyes and those around him.
Love In Colour by Bolu Babalola
A collection of short stories inspired by history and mythology, Love In Color takes old tales, from Greek myths to Nigerian folklores, and retells them as a celebration of love from around the world.
Black Sunday by Tola Rotimi Abraham
Twin sisters Bibike and Ariyike comfortable lives are overturned when their mother loses her job, their father loses their house and their parent’s marriage collapses.
Thrust into the care of their traditional Yoruba grandmother, each sister strays onto different paths as they struggle to get their lives together. Over the course of two decades, we follow them through every struggle and accomplishment in this novel about family, oppression, hope, and love.
