The Road to the Country |
|
1 September 2026 - Zürich
Chigozie Obioma has written a classic coming of age story set during the Biafran War of Independence. I must admit that I had to look up Biafra to see if was merely made up for this work of fiction. It was not. After the British left Nigeria, Biafra declared independence in the late 1960's and fought their own Lost Cause against the larger northern state of their former countrymen. Obioma provides a mythical overlay to the story of the young man, Kunle, who finds himself swept up by the events of his time. War, intrigue, and romance all set against the brutality and deprivations of this war. This background is, indeed, a major part of the story, throwing up obstacle after obstacle that Kunle must overcome. Although he grew up in Nigeria, Obioma became an English professor at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln a few years after I left and has since moved on to Georgia, where I spent nearly 15 years of my childhood and young adulthood. So I guess it's not surprising that his voice resonates with me.
