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Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth

'Soyinka's greatest novel'
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth by Wole Soyinka is a satirical exploration of modern Nigeria, blending political intrigue with dark comedy. The story navigates a nation teeming with corruption and moral chaos, where human body parts are harvested for rituals. Through the eyes of various characters, the novel unravels a complex web of ideology, power, and ethics, painting a vivid picture of a society striving for redemption amidst profound challenges.
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

If you relish satirical and profound explorations of societal and political landscapes, this story offers a gripping narrative, full of wit and sharp commentary. With a richly woven tapestry of intrigue and drama, it navigates themes of corruption and identity, inviting readers to reflect on complex cultural and moral dilemmas. Perfect for those who enjoy thought-provoking fiction that blends mystery with social critique.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Soyinka's greatest novel ... No one else can write such a book - Ben Okri

A high-jinks state-of-the-nation novel - Chibundu Onuzo

A FINANCIAL TIMES AND SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEAR

A towering figure in world literature, Wole Soyinka aims directly at the corridors of power as he warns against corruption both of high office and of the soul, with a dazzling lightness of touch and gleeful irreverence.

Much to Doctor Menka’s horror, some cunning entrepreneur has decided to sell body parts from his hospital for use in ritualistic practices. Already at the end of his tether from the horrors he routinely sees in surgery, he shares this latest development with his oldest college friend, bon viveur, star engineer and Yoruba royal, Duyole Pitan-Payne, who has never before met a puzzle he couldn’t solve. Neither realise how close the enemy is, nor how powerful.

Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth is at once a savagely witty whodunit, a scathing indictment of Nigeria’s political elite, and a provocative call to arms from one of the country’s most relentless political activists and an international literary giant.

MORE PRAISE FOR WOLE SOYINKA: 'You don't see the things the same when you encounter a voice like that' - Toni Morrison

One of the best there is today, a poet and a thinker, who knows both how the world works and how the world should work - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781526638243

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 28 September 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Bloomsbury Circus

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 820g

Pages: 464

About the Author

Born in Nigeria in 1934, Wole Soyinka is an author, playwright, poet and political activist. His prolific body of work includes debut novel The Interpreters and play Death and the King’s Horseman. Soyinka fought in the Nigerian war of independence and has subsequently been one of greatest critics of the Nigerian government. Twice jailed, he wrote part of his memoir on toilet paper in solitary confinement. A staunch critic of corrupt, authoritarian regimes everywhere, Soyinka destroyed his Green Card when Trump was elected in 2016. He is Africa’s first Nobel Laureate in Literature.

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    Nobel Prize-winner Wole Soyinka’s debut novel tells the story of a group of friends facing political corruption and cultural uncertainty in post-independence Nigeria. Friends since high school, Egbo, Bandele, Sagoe, Sekoni and Kola have returned to Lagos after studying abroad. As they navigate wild parties, affairs of the heart, philosophical debates, and professional dilemmas, they struggle to reconcile the cultural...
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  • Death and the King's Horseman
    The action of the play is as inevitable and eloquent as in Antigone: a clash of values and cultures so fundamental that tragedy issues: a tragedy for each individual, each tribe. – Daily Telegraph This play, by the winner of a Nobel Prize for Literature, asks: 'On the authority of what gods' the white aliens rupture the world. It puts...
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  • Death and the King's Horseman
    A masterpiece of 20th century drama. - The Guardian Death and the King's Horseman centres around Elesin Oba, the King's Horseman, who has a single destiny. When the King dies, he must commit ritual suicide and lead his King's favourite horse and dog through the passage to the world of the ancestors. A British Colonial Officer, Pilkings, intervenes to prevent...
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  • Soyinka Plays: 1
    Six masterful works by the Nobel Prize-winning Nigerian playwright. Death and the King's Horseman: 'A transfixing work of modern world drama' - Independent Madmen and Specialists: 'A luminous play, examining the way in which war exposes and clarifies human conduct' - Observer Opera Wonyosi, adapted from Gay's The Beggar's Opera: 'Swaggering and scabrous, at once a verbal spree and a...
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  • Beyond Aesthetics
    An intimate reflection on culture and tradition, creativity and power, that draws on a lifetime’s commitment to aesthetic encounter. The playwright, poet, essayist, novelist, and Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka is also a longtime art collector. This book of essays offers a glimpse into the motivations of the collector, as well as a highly personal look at the politics of aesthetics...
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  • Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth
    Soyinka's greatest novel ... No one else can write such a book - Ben Okri A lion of African literature - Financial Times Chronicles is many things at once: a caustic political satire, a murder mystery, a conspiracy story and a deeply felt lament for the spirit of a nation - Juan Gabriel VΓ‘squez, New York Times A FINANCIAL TIMES...
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  • Of Africa
    A Nobel laureate offers a keen, thought-provoking analysis of Africa's current crises and points the way to cultural and political renewal. A member of the unique generation of African writers and intellectuals who came of age in the last days of colonialism, Wole Soyinka has witnessed the promise of independence and lived through postcolonial failure. He deeply comprehends the pressing...
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