Wole Soyinka Set To Release A New Novel After Almost 50 Years

It’s been almost 50 years since Wole Soyinka’s last novel, Season of the Anomy (1973) got released. That drought ends this November 2020.

Bookcraft, the Nobel laureate’s publishing house here in Nigeria, is set to release his latest book Chronicles of the Happiest People on Earth in Nigeria before the year is over and internationally in 2021. They describe the piece of art as “a narrative tour de force,” which really, if you think of it, is high praise. We expect nothing less. 

The publisher continues, “this novel has got everything— friendship and betrayal; faith and treachery; hope and cynicism; murder; mayhem and no shortage of drama, all set against the backdrop of contemporary Nigeria. As you would expect from a Soyinka’s work, it’s got plenty of colourful characters, profound insights, witty commentary, and the most elegant language! In Soyinka’s expert hands, the apparently disparate strands are woven together with a master story teller’s aplomb. ”Chronicles of the Happiest People on Earth” is a great and unputdownable read from start to finish.”

Soyinka’s first piece of prose fiction is The Interpreters (1964), second is The Season of Anomy (1972), we’re glad to have The Chronicles of the Happiest People on Earth join the ranks.