Welcome to Lagos in Around the World in 80 Books

Sep 26, 2021 Nadine in NY Jones rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, just-for-the-cover, audio

“The only time something is wrong in Nigeria is when you’re caught.”

I'm not sure what to think of this book. The cover implies a humorous book, and at first it did seem to be played for laughs, although in a dark-humor way. But the ending was very serious. I guess that's life though: sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's ridiculous, sometimes it's sad. I was a little confused at times, but Onuzo did a great job of making the scenes come alive, and parts of this book will stay with me f ...more

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Aug 18, 2018 Beverly rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017, africa, cross-cultural, nigeria

thoughts coming shortly

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Aug 25, 2018 Tony rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: novels, setting-africa

Opening outside the oil-rich Niger Delta city of Port Harcourt, this story follows five Nigerians who are fleeing the region for Lagos. The ostensible leader is Chike, an Army officer fed up with carrying our arbitrary acts of brutality in the never-ending war against those in the Delta seeking justice in the face of multinational oil companies. He deserts along with his deputy, Yemi, and as they flee through the jungle, they stumble across a young militant named Fineboy, who follows along. By t Opening outside the oil-rich Niger Delta city of Port Harcourt, this story follows five Nigerians who are fleeing the region for Lagos. The ostensible leader is Chike, an Army officer fed up with carrying our arbitrary acts of brutality in the never-ending war against those in the Delta seeking justice in the face of multinational oil companies. He deserts along with his deputy, Yemi, and as they flee through the jungle, they stumble across a young militant named Fineboy, who follows along. By the time they get off the bus in Lagos, the cast of characters includes a young woman who survived losing her family and being sexually assaulted, as well as a middle-class woman fleeing her abusive marriage. With little money and the daunting logistics of the teeming city, the five band uneasily together to survive.

The tension between living moral and ethical lives, and the need to hustle and do what it takes to stay alive, drives the story for a while, as the group has to pay a gang for the right to sleep under a particular bridge. Eventually, Fineboy locates a furnished space for them to squat in, and life gets a little better. Without spoiling things, a new character comes on the scene, with enough money to make things really interesting. The seventh character added to the group is a journalist, whose story gradually starts to take over the second half of the book. Indeed, it gets significantly derailed he ends up in England, where he went to university, and embarks on a low-key courtship of a BBC reporter.

There are plenty of picaresque twists and turns, but the omnipresence of corruption and violence blanket the lives of the characters. And while it's an affectionate picture of the country, significant warts and all -- to a certain degree, I was a bit surprised that in broad terms it didn't challenge many of the stereotypes of Nigeria. In that sense, I suppose I would recommend it primarily to those planning on reading a broad range of Nigerian fiction that might help lend some depth and context to this ensemble piece. ...more

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Aug 31, 2022 Julie Griffin rated it it was amazing

A motley crew come together by dangerous circumstances come together against all odds and form a family to face adverse conditions in the big city of Laos and somehow end up in the national spotlight.

Two soldiers flee another night of violence against innocent villagers in the Niger Delta. On foot in the dark, they come across a would-be radio personality who unwisely joined the rebel forces for a chance to get on the air. Along the path they meet a young girl, a genius yearning to be a pharmaci ...more

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