1.When We Were Fireflies, by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
THE author of the 2016 The Nigeria Prize for Literature-winning ‘Season of Crimson Blossoms’ returns with a second novel titled ‘When We Were Fireflies’. The book is a retelling of the story of Dorothy Eady, a British woman born in 1904 and later in life became known as Omm Sety. She was known for recalling events from a previous life in ancient Egypt. Ibrahim gives it a Nigerian vibe. It is about Yarima Lalo, a man who while on a train starts to recall previous lives in which he was murdered because of women.
2 The Middle Daughter, by Chika Unigwe
CHIKA Unigwe, who won the 2012 The Nigeria Prize for Literature with her novel, On Black Sister’s Street and was shortlisted for the same prize the year Abubakar Adam Ibrahim won it, returns with The Middle Daughter, a novel built on a Greek mythology but given an Igbo touch. Nani’s story with Ephraim recreated this myth and Unigwe delivers a searing tale.
3. People Live Here, by TJ Benson
THE novel is about a nurse who loses her mind after a medical mission in Yemen. A therapist asks her to keep journals to narrate everything she has been through. The horror of the war she recounts is heart-rending. Her backstory also makes the book compelling.
4. The Widow Who Died With Flower In Her Mouth, by Obinna Udenwe
THIS is a collection of long-form stories about different characters with some characters spilling into more than one story. Udenwe, who was shortlisted for the Nigeria Prize for Literature and won the Chinua Achebe Prize for Literature in 2021, tells about richly-imagined character such as Emilia. Mental health, romance and love are some of the thematic concerns.
5. Leave My Bones in Saskatoon, by Michael Afenfia
THIS is the author’s sixth novel. In it, Owoicho Adakole loses his wife and three children on the day their plan to japa to Canada is approved. The novel tackles insecurity in Nigeria, challenges of living in Exile, betrayal and more.
