The Spider King's Daughter, 2012, Chibundo Onuzo ***

Let me start with saying it is a story about a rich man in Lagos, who got rich suspiciously. He is intimidatingly powerful, which makes the way he runs his household very questionable as well.

His presumptuous daughter Abike falls for a hawker, who use to belong to the Nigerian affluent middle class. What she did not know is that her father has a hand in the hawker's current situation by doing away with his father's life, the main breadwinner and the one who pays the bills. Will the hawker take this opportunity to avenge his father's death or

We Need New Names, 2013, Noviolet Bulawayo ****

"We Need New Names" by Noviolet Bulawayo was a compelling read. A fast moving first person narrative through the eyes of a ten-year-old girl, Darling, in Zimbabwe. Her life was smooth sailing until her house was demolished, and had to move in with her family to a slum called Paradise. A contradiction in terms, indeed.

Life in Paradise was not bad after all, she made friends: Bastard, pregnant Chipo (though she was only 11), Sbho, Stina and Godknows, with whom she aimlessly roamed the richer neighbourhood in tatters, searching for ripe guavas to steal in order to assuage their hunger. Going to school was out of the question, since all of the teacher have emigrated to neighbouring countries for better pay cheque. What is more, International Aid was their main source of survival. 

As the story unfolds, things went from bad to worse and, fortunate Darling managed to join her aunt in the United States of America. Where she found herself subdued in a cultural conflict, self-loss, missing all she had left behind. Even though, her home country was a scene of abject poverty.

An entertaining read. Though, at first, I was wondering why all the Prizes. However, in the end, I came to realise that it is one special book, whose story clung on for a while after reading. Realistic characters, though, with names that weren't the norm. Additionally, I found something intrinsically despairing with Darling's narrative,  helplessly voicing out her opinions about the world she lives in. The writing style flows easily. It is just amazing how the writer emulated a child in such circumstances.

Noviolet Bulawayo is a talented writer, I am so confident that she would write even better novels in the future. Her first novel is a 2013 Man Booker Prize Nominee, 2013 Guardian First Book Award Nominee, 2013 Winner of Etisalat Prize for Literature and  2014 Pen/Hemmingway Award so far.
Finally, big thank you to the MS/HS library for lending me an electronic copy after I persuaded them to buy one.

I recommend.

I Do Not Come to You by Chance, 2009, Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani ****

A lot of (positive) reviews about this book, at last I laid my hands on it  in April 2012. I really liked it. It is the author's first novel and it was awarded the 2010 Commonwealth Writers' Prize.

I really doubted whether to give it 4 or 5 stars, at last I decided 4 because part one of the novel was kind of slow (according to my point of view), it narrated all I already know about, most probably because I am from the part of Nigeria where the story took place and I am so use to the culture.

This book tells the story line of most LIFE IN NIGERIA; HOPELESSNESS!!! you see a bit of it reflected in each of all of the 350+ pages. First of all you see how well learned people with their university certificate and post grade and masters certificate just lose their job without any coherent explanation, how the parents of 4 put all their hope on their first son to help them with his siblings- who after university couldn't find a job because he doesn't know anyone with a long leg that would fix him. How women leave the (learned and young) boyfriend they love for another with cash, older and unlearned, how people die of curable disease. How people with university degrees are risking their lives going to Europe, America even Bulgaria (I know it is part of Europe...).

This book tells the story line of how most Nigerians are so desperate to leave their hometown and do things they never expect themselves doing. The 419 Scam was just a way to get the news to the world. I felt lots of sympathy for Kingsley (main character).

Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, being her first novel did a wonderful job. This is a book I highly recommend. It was told in an entertaining way of which I enjoyed. I am waiting for more from Miss Nwaubani.