Sense of place

2 stars

"In far northwestern Nigeria, Dantala lives among a gang of street boys who sleep under a kuka tree. During the election, the boys are paid by the Small Party to cause trouble. When their attempt to burn down the opposition's local headquarters ends in disaster, Dantala must run for his life, leaving his best friend behind. He makes his way to a mosque that provides him with food, shelter, and guidance. With his quick aptitude and modest nature, Dantala...

"For as long as she can remember, Patience Adewale has been waiting for confirmation that she is loved, that there is a place where she truly belongs. The eldest daughter of Chief Kolade Adewale, Patience lives a sheltered life in Ibadan, but within the walls of their mansion, her distant father and stepmother Modupe offer no comfort. Her only ally in the house is her younger sister, Margaret, but Margaret can only do so much. More than anything,...

"When a woman travels to Nigeria to attend the funeral of the father she never knew, she meets an over-the-top family, a new love interest, and discovers parts of herself she didn't know were missing in this engrossing novel from Jane Igharo, the acclaimed author of Ties That Tether. Hannah Bailey has never had a relationship with her father, the Nigerian businessman who had a fling with her white mother, so she's always felt clueless about part of...

"In Nigeria, vagabonds are those whose existence is literally outlawed: the poor, the queer, the drivers and dancers, the abused and displaced and vulnerable. Blending unvarnished realism with myth and fantasy, Vagabonds! traces characters for whom life itself is a form of resistance: a driver for a debauched politician; a fashion designer who gives birth to a grown daughter; a lesbian couple; a wife and mother trying to escape from her violent husband....