• Manuwa Street

    “Lagos brings you alive. Lagos kills you. Here, you’ll be wrong about everything. Here, you won’t have anything to worry about. Lagos creates as many millionaires as it sends poor people to the mat. Here, Nature abounds as much as it self-destructs. And never, you humans, despite your beliefs and certainties, have you ever wanted to live so much. In the midst of this overflow, this too many people, this too much waste, injustices, parties and excesses. Of everything you’ve tried to ignore until now.”

    French journalist Sophie Bouillon documents living in Lagos in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown. As a journalist, she gets out of her night to go and write the dispatch that will announce to the world that Africa, in turn, is affected by this “white virus” that is bringing the West to its knees.

    In this thoughtful narrative non-fiction, Bouillon explores everyday life in Lagos through experiences from her career and personal life. In one unforgettable year, the city was rocked by explosions, evictions and protests. A city that never sleeps put to bed by the pandemic. Manuwa Street is the impressive story of a year that will end with the uprising of a people. It is also and above all a hypnotic and luminous dive into a city that never lets up, meeting men and women struggling with the din of the world.

    But Manuwa Street isn’t just a disinterested documentation of a foreigner’s impression of Lagos; it is about love, uncertainty, hope and survival.

    Manuwa Street

    75.00
  • The Whispering Trees

    The magical tales in The Whispering Trees capture the essence of life, death and coincidence in Northern Nigeria. Myth and reality intertwine in stories featuring cat-eyed English witches, political agitators, newly-wedded widows, and the tormented whirlwind, Kyakkyawa. The two medicine men of Mazade battle against their egos, an epidemic and an enigmatic witch. And who is Okhiwo, whose arrival is heralded by a pair of little white butterflies?

  • The Chameleon Girl

    University lecturer, Soumaya Dramé, abandons her job in England to go after her mother, Pearl, who, in the wake of a quarrel with her Senegalese father, AI, has fled to Senegal. Determined to track Pearl down before her despondent father does something foolish, Soumaya enlists the help of a charismatic photographer, Aziz. As they navigate a place she is from but not quite a part of, Soumaya meets her Senegalese relatives – and also runs into a beautiful older woman who seems to be stalking her.

    Set mostly in sunny Dakar, The Chameleon Girl is the story of a woman of dual identities confronting her parents’ past amid secrets, stereotypes and cross-cultural family tensions.

  • One Chance Dance

    A heartwarming, exciting story of friendship, wonder and dance from Waterstones Prize-shortlisted author Efua Traoré!

    Jomi’s mum left when he was little to make a new life for them in Lagos, the city of dreams. When Jomi doesn’t hear from her, he decides to follow. His only starting place is a TV dance competition that his mum used to love.

    Things go badly for the boy and his pet bushbaby, until he meets a crew of street kids. Together, they come up with a one-chance idea to find Jomi’s mother – and make their own dreams come true.

    • A brand new novel full of joy and wonder by the author of Children of the Quicksands, shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize
    • A contemporary adventure of destiny, friendship and dance set in the vibrant city of Lagos, Nigeria
    • Jomi hopes to find his missing mum by dancing on a TV talent show in a story which offers emotional pull and a lot of fun!

    PRAISE FOR CHILDREN OF THE QUICKSANDS:

    ‘A joy of a book: rich, warm, powerful storytelling’ KATHERINE RUNDELL

    ‘A thrilling adventure bright with the gorgeous colours of Nigeria – glorious!’ JASBINDER BILAN

    ‘An excellent book … rich in tradition and realism.’ HANNAH GOLD

    ‘[A] beautifully evoked story’ THE TELEGRAPH

    One Chance Dance

    110.00
  • The Three of Us

    Both wickedly entertaining and thought-provoking.
    I couldn’t stop turning the page!
    ~ Lizzie Damilola Blackburn

    Long-standing tensions between a husband, his wife, and her best friend finally come to a breaking point in this sharp domestic comedy of manners, told brilliantly over the course of one day.

    What if the two most important people in your life hated each other with a passion?

    The wife has it all. A big house in a nice neighbourhood, a ride-or-die snarky friend with whom to laugh about facile men, and an affectionate husband who loves her above all else. The only thing missing from this portrait is a baby. But motherhood is a serious undertaking, especially for the wife who has valued her selfhood above all else.

    On a seemingly normal day, the best friend comes over to spend a lazy afternoon with the wife. But when the husband comes home and a series of confessions are made that threaten to throw everything off balance, the wife’s two confidantes are suddenly forced to jockey for their positions. Told in three taut, mesmerizing parts—the wife, the husband, the best friend—the day quickly unfolds to show how the trio’s dented visions of each other finally unravel, throwing everyone’s integrity into question – and their long-drawn-out territorial dance, carefully constructed over pivotal years, into utter chaos.

    At once subversively comical, wildly astute, and painfully compulsive, The Three of Us explores cultural truths, what it means to defy them, and the fine line between compromise and betrayal, ultimately asking: who are we if not for the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, and the people we’re meant to love?

    The Three of Us

    130.00
  • Rose and the Burma Sky

    A gripping and intimate historical novel of a black soldier’s experience in the Second World War – a rare and moving tale of love and sacrifice.

    One war, one soldier, one enduring love

    1939: In a village in south-east Nigeria on the brink of the Second World War, young Obi watches from a mango tree as a colonial army jeep speeds by, filled with soldiers laughing and shouting, their buttons shining in the sun. To Obi, their promise of a smart uniform and regular wages is hard to resist, especially as he has his sweetheart Rose to impress and a family to support.

    Years later, when Rose falls pregnant to another man, his heart is shattered. As the Burma Campaign mounts, and Obi is shipped out to fight, he is haunted by the mystery of Rose’s lover. When his identity comes to light, Obi’s devastation leads to a tragic chain of unexpected events.

    In Rose and the Burma Sky, Rosanna Amaka weaves together the realities of war, the pain of first love and how following your heart might not always be the best course of action. Its gritty boy’s-eye view brings a spare and impassioned intensity, charging it with universal resonance and power.

  • When We Were Fireflies

    When brooding artist, Yarima Lalo, encounters a moving train for the first time, two serendipitous events occur. First, it triggers memories of past lives in which he was twice murdered—once on a train. He also meets Aziza, a woman with a complicated past of her own, who becomes key to helping him understand what he is experiencing. With a third death in his current life imminent, together they go hunting for remnants of his past lives. Will they find evidence that he is losing his mind or the people who once loved or loathed him?

    “A gripping, layered, passionate and haunting novel with tones of otherworldliness. Abubakar’s prose sparkles with poetry, wisdom and compassion. This is a complex and unforgettable story that will keep you up at night.” – Bisi Adjapon

  • Sànyà

    She could either be the saviour of her people,
    or the destroyer of their world.

    Sànyà always felt different. And everyone that knew her—the people in the village she grew up in, her beloved brother, Dada, her Aunt Abike, and even her parents before she was born—knew that there was something special about her, too. After an unspeakable tragedy causes her to leave home and grow up too soon, she is devastated to find that her incredible powers are linked to a future which she must fight, even at the cost of her very soul. She begins life anew, hoping that the dark prophesy would somehow rewrite itself. Soon, however, her carefully crafted life and identity becomes the catalyst for a deadly war that will tear her family apart, and doom everything she holds dear.

    Oyin Olugbile’s masterful debut tells the story of dangerous love—lost, found, and lost again—all against the backdrop of a fantastical, enthralling empire that holds even the Òrìsà themselves spellbound.

    Sànyà

    160.00
  • Through Thick and Thin: Janet Neequaye – An Autobiography

    Through Thick and Thin is the story of Professor Janet Neequaye. Janet was born and educated in England and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Edinburgh), among other qualifications. She started working and teaching as a doctor in Ghana in 1971 and was one time Head of the Department of Child Health at the University of Ghana Medical School. She has published over 60 papers in peer-reviewed journals on malaria, chloroquine resistance, Burkitt lymphoma, HIV epidemiology in Ghana, neonatal jaundice, neonatal tetanus and sickle cell disease.

    The 199-page book with a photo gallery and an index talks about Prof. Mrs Neequaye’s life and career as a doctor, teacher and mother in England, Saudi Arabia and Ghana, where she lived on and off over the past 50 years. Through Thick and Thin illustrates the trials and triumphs of her life, stretching from 1946 to the present, starting at her birthplace in the provincial town of Benfleet, Southern Essex in England, and still ongoing in Accra.

    Some chapters in the book have titles such as: Life Today, My Family, Medical School, Marriage and Early Working Life, and Going to Ghana, among others.

    Though now retired, Professor Janet Neequaye has continued to be actively involved in matters relating to infant health in particular. This is evidenced by her decision to donate proceeds from sales of her autobiography to the Children’s Block at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital to help improve on conditions there.

  • The Mumfordians: Memories of a Sea Boy

    In one beautiful swoop, this book takes you to the nostalgic past and the aspirational future of an African nation still in the throes of defining self-determination. With the brilliance of powerful recalls, it dissects the socio-cultural as well as the political. It is one man’s journey from an idyllic African fishing village, through his self-improvement to become the executive secretary of a Pan-African body travelling several capitals of the world in the service of his employer.

    It is also a book about people − their history, their dreams and the ills they seem unable to decidedly confront. But what makes The Mumfordians a keepsake is its richness in national promise and communal nostalgia.

  • Small Worlds

    An exhilarating and expansive new novel about fathers and sons, faith and friendship from National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree and Costa First Novel Award winning author Caleb Azumah Nelson

    One of the most acclaimed and internationally bestselling “unforgettable” (New York Times) debuts of the 2021, Caleb Azumah Nelson’s London-set love story Open Water took the US by storm and introduced the world to a salient and insightful new voice in fiction. Now, with his second novel Small Worlds, the prodigious Azumah Nelson brings another set of enduring characters to brilliant life in his signature rhythmic, melodic prose.

    The one thing that can solve Stephen’s problems is dancing. Dancing at Church, with his friends, his band or alone at home to his father’s records, uncovering parts of a man he has never truly known.

    Stephen has only ever known himself in song. But what becomes of him when the music fades? When his father begins to speak of shame and sacrifice, when his home is no longer his own? How will he find space for himself: a place where he can feel beautiful, a place he might feel free?

    Set over the course of three summers in Stephen’s life, from London to Ghana and back again, Small Worlds is an exhilarating and expansive novel about the worlds we build for ourselves, the worlds we live, dance and love within.

    Small Worlds

    125.00
  • 5 Presidents, 8 Elections, 30 Years Later: How Ghanaians See Their Democracy

    Ghana’s Fourth Republic, a multiparty democracy, has seen five presidents, held eight successful elections and, as of this writing, is in its thirtieth year. This makes it unique in several ways, compared to previous attempts at multiparty democracy, in that it is the longest-lasting republic so far in the country’s post-independence history. It has outlived the first, second, and third republics combined by more than eighteen years.
    What explains this unique period and change in the political trajectory of Ghana? Why has the country’s most recent attempt at multiparty democracy lasted this long?
    Drawing on answers to questions in the Afrobarometer survey, administered nine times at periodic intervals between 1999 and 2022, this book describes in twenty themes and fifty-one observations, how Ghanaians see their democracy. The book covers themes such as trust in institutions, partisanship, support for democracy, governments handling of the policy priorities of Ghanaians, among many others. The book points out the key lessons of the last thirty and the challenges ahead in the country’s efforts to deepen democratic governance.

  • The Putin Mystique: Inside Russia’s Power Cult (Pre-Order)

    Getting to grips with Russia’s 21st century Tsar.

    Vladimir V. Putin has confounded world leaders and defied their assumptions as they tried to figure him out, only to misjudge him time and again. The Putin Mystique takes the reader on a journey through the Russia of Vladimir Putin, named by Forbes magazine in 2013 as the most powerful man in the world. It is a neo-feudal world where iPads, WTO membership, and Brioni business suits conceal a power structure straight out of the Middle Ages, where the Sovereign is perceived as both divine and demonic, where a man’s riches are determined by his proximity to the Kremlin, and where large swathes of the populace live in precarious complacency interrupted by bouts of revolt.

    Where does that kind of power come from? The answer lies not in the leader, but in the people: from the impoverished worker who appeals directly to Putin for aid, to the businessmen, security officers and officials in Putin’s often dysfunctional government who look to their leader for instruction and protection.

    In her writing career, Anna Arutunyan has travelled throughout Russia to report on modern Russian politics. She has interviewed oligarchs and policemen, bishops and politicians, and many ordinary Russians. Her book is a vivid and revealing exploration of the way in which myth, power, and even religion interact to produce the love-hate relationship between the Russian people and Vladimir Putin.

  • The African Country Fetu

    Originally written in Germany in the 1660s, this book is an assessment of an African society by a Danish missionary stationed in Fort Fredericksborg. Basing his ethnography on the ancient Kingdom of Fetu (roughly today’s Cape Coast and Elmina area), this White visitor who found himself in the land of the ‘heathen’ won their friendship and made interesting interpretation of the people, their culture and livelihood systems. Wilhem Johan Müller lived and interacted closely with the local people yet his cultural distance rendered some of his accounts absurd while others were …not too wrong.

    Fetu is a vintage document translated into English by a master linguist, Kari Dako.

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