Born on a Tuesday
by Elnathan John
2020-09-04 13:01:40
âA Nigerian bildungsroman featuring Dantala, a street kid thrust calamitously into the arms of a gentle sheikh, who thereafter faces Islamic extremism.â âO, The Oprah Magazine, â10 Titles to Pick Up Nowâ Winner of the 2017 Be...
Read more
âA Nigerian bildungsroman featuring Dantala, a street kid thrust calamitously into the arms of a gentle sheikh, who thereafter faces Islamic extremism.â âO, The Oprah Magazine, â10 Titles to Pick Up Nowâ Winner of the 2017 Betty Trask Prize A Finalist for the Nigeria Prize for Literature Nominated for 2017 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award An Indies Introduce Selection An Amazon Best Book of the Month in Literature & Fiction Longlisted for the 2016 Etisalat Prize for Literature 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 oppositionâs 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 becomes a favored apprentice to the mosqueâs sheikh. Before long, he is faced with a terrible conflict of loyalties, as one of the sheikhâs closest advisors begins to raise his own radical movement. When bloodshed erupts in the city around him, Dantala must decide what kind of Muslimâand what kind of manâhe wants to be. âAn ambitious book that tackles modern Nigeriaâs extremely complex religious landscape with great insight, passion, and humor by taking us deep into the mental and emotional space of the countryâs most neglected.â âUzodinma Iweala, author of Beasts of No Nation
Less
.jpg){kind=logo}
.jpg){kind=logo}
