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Voices that Sing Behind the Veil: Anthology of Short Stories from Africa and the Diaspora (Hardcover)
This 684-page collection is published in collaboration with the Pan African Writers Association which is based in Accra and affiliated to the continental body, the African Union.
The fifty-six stories come from fifteen African countries and elsewhere; Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and East of the continent, Uganda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo in the Great Lakes region, Ethiopia and Tanzania (in setting). They bring in other voices in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Malawi, St. Maarten, United States and Britain. The themes are amok and definitely so in a vein of free expression. There are stories of love (of even a man who finds one whilst visiting a dying cancer-patient wife at the hospital in Lagos) or of a husband wrongfully imprisoned in Malawi who upon escape from jail confronts a wife about to wed again, a story very reminiscent of the main character in Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s, Weep Not, Child.
There is hate and there is poverty – one from Kenya which reads like the Zimbabwean novelist, Dambudzo Marechera’s 1978 classic, The House of Hunger. Issues of mental health, corpse donation for scientific research and Coronavirus-19 are addressed alongside Pentecostal redemption, fake prophets and the havoc they exert on societies as do their counterparts in Islam.
Contributing writers include distinguished and award-winning writers, academics and emerging talents such Zaynab Alkali (Nigeria), Ben Okri (UK/Nigeria), Molefi Kete Asante (US), Wesley Macheso (Malawi), Ogochukwu Promise (Nigeria), Grace Maguri (Zimbabwe), Athol Williams (South Africa), Martin Egblewogbe (Ghana), Esther K Mbithi (Kenya), Mary Ashun (Ghana), Wale Okediran (Nigeria) among others.
“These extraordinary stories, mesmerising and beautifully written, are surely connected to a past that remains with us, the experiences of day-to-day living and the limitless imaginings of our futures. The discerning editor combines stories that communicate appreciation with apprehension, presence with essence… a good read.” – Toyin Falola, Historian and the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair, University of Texas, Austin
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Infinite Roots
“I must tell you my history,” Baba would roar, “the history you learn at school is not better than that which I have to tell you. My history concerns you directly, it is who you are, what you are, and what you’re going to become.”
“…woven in an unbroken thread of prose…in a complex, digressive narrative that is like a set of Chinese boxes (or those Russian Matryoshka dolls), one laid inside another.” — Literary Review
Infinite Roots follows the multi-generational story of a Ghanaian military family, composed through the eyes of a young daughter learning about her history and culture through the many stories of her parents and elders. This autobiographical novel spreads out across the 60s and 80s Ghana as the military family journeys from Wa to Tamale to Accra to Kumasi to Takoradi to Ho and more. As the young girl grows, she also begins to share her own re-tellings as her elders once did.
“…it is an incredible survey of Ghanaian traditions, customs, superstitions and beliefs, as well as social and political history and the emergence of female education.” — Lee Oliver
₵80.00₵100.00Infinite Roots
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The Law Is An Ass: A Collection of Short Stories
“They say fiction is an extension of the factual. Niran Adedokun’s The Law is an Ass, features nine short stories that seem like fictional manifestations of the concerns in his second book, The Danfo Driver in All of Us. In this collection, Niran continues his jeremiad about Nigeria, with stories about sexual shenanigans (both real and imagined), corruption, poverty and deprivation as well as a heady cocktail of other problems that beset a third world country like Nigeria. These stories, told in simple but gripping prose, will hold you in thrall like the tale of the Ancient Mariner.” – Toni Kan, author, The Carnivorous City
“These stories have tricky plots, appearing simple and linear in design with seductive and elegant prose. Line after line, paragraph after paragraph, we grow to love the protagonists.” – Jahman Anikulapo, former Arts Editor and Editor of The Guardian on Sunday
“The author leads you from randomness to some unexpected cataclysmic event in his stories. One minute you are innocently traipsing through the gullies of life and the next thing, Nigeria happens to you. The stories are like short films, vivid and captivating.” – Mildred Okwo, filmmaker and writer
“Niran’s stories are populated by characters who are our neighbours, our friends, our colleagues and members of our family. He offers us an entertaining and educative read that is vivid, engaging and throbbing.” – Olukorede Yisha, author, In The Name of our Father and Secret Vaults
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Prince of Monkeys
Growing up in middle-class Lagos, Nigeria during the late 1980s and early 1990s, Ihechi forms a band of close friends in his neighbourhood. They discover Lagos together as teenagers whose differing ideologies come to the fore over everything from film to football, Fela Kuti to God, sex to politics. They remain close-knit until Ihechi’s girlfriend, is killed in an anti-government riot.
Exiled by his concerned mother, Ihechi moves in with his uncle’s family, where he struggles to find himself outside his former circle of friends. Ihechi eventually finds success by leveraging his connection with a notorious prostitution linchpin and political heavyweight, and earning favour among the ruling elite.
But just as Ihechi is about to make his final ascent into the elite political class, he encounters his childhood friends and experiences a crisis of conscience that forces him to question his motives and who he wants to be. Nnamdi Ehirim’s debut novel, Prince of Monkeys is a lyrical, reflective glimpse into Nigerian life, religion, and politics at the end of the twentieth century.
₵135.00Prince of Monkeys
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Lagos to London
A tale of two Nigerian students Remi Coker and Nnamdi Okonkwo from different backgrounds who leave the shores of Nigeria full of hope to further their education abroad. Remi from the prestigious Coker family is expected to return home after her law degree to run the family law firm and Nnamdi, frustrated by the federal university strikes plans to escape Nigeria and never return.
The story follows their journey of newfound freedom, self-discovery, hope, unexpected turns, lessons, and the realities of life in the United Kingdom.
₵85.00Lagos to London
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The Riddle of The Oil Thief
It is the untold story of several decades of oil and gas exploitation in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. It x-rays the root causes of insecurity in Nigeria and presents the recipe for the restoration of peace in Nigeria and the entire West African Sub-region.
₵260.00The Riddle of The Oil Thief
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Anu Gbaa Ajo Egbe (Igbo)
Ositadimma Amakeze has been heralded as the modern-day Achebe.
Anụ Gbaa Ajọ Egbe… (fable)is a contribution towards promotion and preservation of folktales as tradition in Igbo land. Let the title, which at the first looks controversial, not deter you, for where there’s Tortoise they are limitless possibilities. Remember, it was he, who chose to be addressed as “Unu dum” when he joined a flock of birds to a feast in heaven. You better see why he is the Nkpọnkpọ kpọkịrịkpọ, one of a kind that no other animal is capable of begetting but she Tortoise herself!
The novel documents the adventures of Mbekwu, the tortoise who is regarded as the trickster in Igbo folklore – equivalent to Ananse in Twi lore or the Coyote in Native American lore.
₵40.00Anu Gbaa Ajo Egbe (Igbo)
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The Madhouse
A house brings two unique people together by the unlikeliest of chances. In their union, that of an almost priest and a prodigal daughter, two brothers whose bond transcend the laws of nature are born.
André and Max have a seemingly blissful life until the boys start sharing dreams and their lives begin to unravel. Murderous thoughts, manic dreams, and their somewhat unbreakable wandering between reality and reverie, would lead them down unknown paths that threaten to severe their family ties.
In this exhilarating and dreamy narration set against the backdrop of a tumultuous era of military rule in Nigeria, TJ Benson weaves a spellbinding tale about the clashes between cultures, the impact of fragile political situations on everyday people, and the lengths we are willing to go in order to save our loved ones.
₵135.00The Madhouse
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King Alboury Cooks the Best Jollof (Africa’s Little Kings & Queens)
Age Range: 3 – 8 years
A must-have for every child’s library. Loved by children around the world and teaches them the importance of kindness and community.
King Alboury Cooks the Best Jollof is a fictional story inspired by King Alboury Ndiaye, the last King of the Jollof Kingdom in Senegal. A must-have for every child’s library.
In this story, King Alboury loves to cook and his favourite meal to make is his famous jollof rice. His ancestors invented the recipe, and so he is the only one who knows the secret. However, King Alboury has a problem, his troublesome neighbours, the Chuchus people. Every time the King cooks his special Jollof rice, their tummies start to rumble so loud that they become jealous. Rumour has it that they are plotting against the Jollof Kingdom, but don’t worry, King Alboury has a plan!
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A Play of Giants
Described by the author as a ‘Fantasia on Aminian theme’, Wole Soyinka’s new play presents a savage portrait of a group of dictatorial African leaders at bay in an embassy in New York. The resemblance between them and recent historical characters is only too pronounced.
₵30.00A Play of Giants
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The Two Gifts
Two women living under the same roof are at loggerheads with each other.
Then they encounter a mysterious old man with a gift for each woman.
The Two Gifts is a story about the power of love and forgiveness over hatred and ill will.
Beautifully rendered with a fully illustrated glossary, this book is a delight for the young at heart.
₵10.00The Two Gifts
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Fatal Passion
Are you ready for the Adventure of your life?
A fun-filed holiday turns into a nightmare….
A trusted friend becomes a traitor……
A young girl trapped in the web of ritual killers.
Join Enuma Okoto, a form three student of Girls High School, Port Harcourt, as she embarks on a casual journey that soon becomes dangerous.
₵15.00Fatal Passion
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Ayorkor
Ayorkor’s beauty was fortified with a good character ingrained by her parents. She had great dreams for the future and was also bent on making her parents proud come what may.
However, her father’s misfortune at his workplace almost derailed her plans. As a JHS Three student, her Basic School final exam was now on the line as her family began to face financial difficulties. Eventually, fate made it necessary for her to relocate to live with her uncle and his wife in another town.
At her new place, Ayorkor made a friend at school who lured her into a very tempting situation. The tough test of Ayorkor’s character and her resolve would then unfold.
₵38.00Ayorkor
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The Mystery of A Cockcrow: A Play in Three Acts
The Mystery of a Cockrow, a play in three acts, is centered in a small village and lays bare the full miseries of matrilineal inheritance in the Ghanaian Society.
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Ogyam the Scholar
Ogyam, popularly known as the scholar, is the laziest man in the village. While people farm the land to grow crops, he uses his tongue to earn his living. But when he could no longer get cases to defend, he resorts to stealing other people’s crops.
One day he runs out of luck and he is caught. Will he go to jail or he will be able to defend himself as he defends others?
₵12.00Ogyam the Scholar
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