Since we read Chinelo Okparanta‘s powerful debut novel, “Under The Udala Trees” – a coming-of-age lesbian story set against the backdrop of the Nigerian civil war – we’ve been searching for another book with as much depth and empathy. Well, we think we may have just found what we’ve been looking for in Olumide Popoola‘s recently released novel “When We Speak Of Nothing“.
With this novel, the Nigerian-German author focuses on gender identity and the Niger Delta crisis. The book has already been released in Europe to considerable critical acclaim and is set to launch in Nigeria this September.
Brief synopsis of the book – When We Speak Of Nothing:
Best friends Karl and Abu are both 17 and live in London. It’s 2011 and racial tensions are set to explode. Abu is infatuated with a gorgeous classmate but is too scared to speak to her. Meanwhile, Karl is the target of the local thugs for being different.
When Karl finds out his father lives in Nigeria, he decides that Port Harcourt is the best place to escape the sound and fury of London, and connect with a Dad he’s never known.
Rejected on arrival, Karl befriends Nakale, an activist who wants to expose the ecocide in the Niger Delta to the world, and falls headlong for his feisty cousin Janoma.
This post first appeared in Konbini
