Books by Ben Okri
Ben Okri is a British-Nigerian novelist, poet and writer of short stories.
“It was the beginning of African literature getting a space in Western literary culture and it was very impactful on me because it told stories that I hadn’t come across before. It’s the story of a spirit child and Africa has a strong spiritual tradition. In fact, our whole culture is based on a lot of spiritual practice…When this book came out I was, like, ‘Wow! I get this, this speaks to me, it makes a lot of sense.'” Read more...
Blessing Musariri, Novelist
“It is the story of a young painter, Omovo, who lives in a compound in Nigeria. He is trying to make sense of the environment around him, the oppression, poverty and corruption. His father is a very harsh man, who is feeling emasculated by his current wife. Omovo is in love with his neighbour’s young wife. So all this is going on in this novel and Okri handles it brilliantly. The main story is about Omovo’s escape through his art, his painting. Through this he is able to express his inner protest. He is very young and during the book you see his growing consciousness about what is going on around him. As the name of the first version suggests, it is a book about exploring one’s inner landscape, about refection, about bringing order to the daily chaos around. The setting is the 1970s, just after the Nigerian civil war, so you have that militaristic echo, a feeling of violence in the air, forming a backdrop of oppression and violence which is threatening to Omovo’s art. Okri describes it all beautifully, suggestively, through vivid imagery and metaphors.” Read more...
Helon Habila, Novelist
Interviews where books by Ben Okri were recommended
The best books on Nigeria, recommended by Helon Habila
The award-winning Nigerian writer, Helon Habila, picks his favourite books about Nigeria.
The Best African Novels, recommended by Blessing Musariri
“We are connected to the spirit and it’s an active connection. It’s not somewhere that’s only in the afterlife, it’s here in the present as well. That, I think, is endemic across all African cultures and traditions,” says Zimbabwean novelist and poet Blessing Musariri. Here she recommends some of the best African novels, books that had a big personal impact and have stayed with her.
