Reading

Through Time’s Lens The Enduring Message of Chinua Achebe’s No Longer At Ease

Adebola RayoSeptember 1, 2023

Reading Chinua Achebe’s No Longer At Ease in 2023, six decades after it was first published, the story offers a historical reckoning and a prophetic warning about Nigeria’s future. Did a refusal to heed this warning have a calamitous effect on Nigeria and its people?

August/September 2023Best of 2023: EssaysNigeriaReadingvol7-no3

The Indelible Life of Ama Ata Aidoo A Personal Reflection

Nii Ayikwei ParkesSeptember 1, 2023

Growing up in Ghana in the 1980s, there were certain writers you didn’t escape. Ama Ata Aidoo, who passed away in May 2023, was one such writer, Nii Ayikwei Parkes writes. Hers is a timeless legacy of a writer who triumphed over the double battle of high-level literary creation and persistent erasure, and became one of the world’s leading thinkers and writers.

August/September 2023GhanaReadingvol7-no3

Like a Compass Pointing to Nsukka 20 years of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus

Ernest NwekeSeptember 1, 2023

20 years ago, Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, made her debut in the Nigerian literary scene with Purple Hibiscus. With all its masterfully curated elements that immediately stamped Adichie as a global literary voice, her 2003 novel remains an incisive guide to Nsukka.

August/September 2023Best of 2023: EssaysNigeriaReadingvol7-no3

August Reading 2023 Half-Year Reading from The Republic’s Contributors

Peace Yetunde OnafuyeAugust 30, 2023

Our 2023 August Reading list features the most important books so far this year based on recommendations from The Republic’s contributors.

AfricaAugust/September 2023Reading

Who’s Afraid of Nigerian Literature? The Resilience of Nigerian Writing

Kéchi Nne NomuJuly 27, 2023

The exodus of a new generation of Nigerian writers has sparked discussions about the state of Nigerian literature in recent times. Some have asserted that Nigerian literature is dead or dying and that writing from within a Nigerian context, from home, is becoming an endangered art.

Best of 2023: EssaysJune/July 2023NigeriaReading

Writing from the Collective Memories of Others Revisiting Buchi Emecheta’s Destination Biafra

Ijedike JebomaJuly 20, 2023

Since the publication of Destination Biafra by Buchi Emecheta in 1982, many Nigerian writers have made contributions to Biafran War literature. Thirty years on, Emecheta’s novel continues to stand out for its ambitious and distinctive approach to transforming collective memory into a fictionalized Biafra story.

Best of 2023: EssaysJune/July 2023NigeriaReading

In Which Nothing Happens Book Review: Sọ̀rọ̀sóke: An #EndSARS Anthology

Ernest ÒgúnyemíJuly 13, 2023

Sọ̀rọ̀sókè: An #EndSARS Anthology, a flawed collection of poetry edited by Jumoke Verissimo and James Yékú, begs the following questions: Are we supposed to stop putting ‘poetry’ anthologies together on the spur of remarkable moments? Are we supposed to give up using anthologies to mark remarkable events and people?

June/July 2023NigeriaReading

Coming of Age Amidst Political Instability and Western Influence Book Review: The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa by Stephen Buoro

Kenechukwu NwokediMay 18, 2023

The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa, a novel by Stephen Buoro, deftly navigates the tension between what informs desire and the instinct to shirk it. The novel aims to highlight the complexities of living in a country like Nigeria through the perspective of a malleable teenager full of promise.

April/May 2023NigeriaReading

A Valiant but Flawed Effort to Gauge the Worth of a Life Book Review: People Live Here by TJ Benson

Edwin OkoloMay 4, 2023

People Live Here by TJ Benson is a novel that will inspire conversation because of its novelty and its ambition, but it will also inspire a lot of divisive commentary because of its stylistic choices and less than stellar execution.

April/May 2023NigeriaReading

A Captivating Debut on Self-Discovery Book Review: Maame by Jessica George

Peace Yetunde OnafuyeApril 28, 2023

Maame, a novel by Jessica George, is an intense yet uplifting journey towards self-discovery. The novel carefully explores what it means to find one’s true self and how to deal with grief.

April/May 2023GhanaReading