The BusinessDay CEO Magazine May 2017

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The BusinessDay CEO, May 2017 | 12 fused emotions with great storytelling in a novel that readers can empathize with. Stay with Mehas been shortlisted among 6 novels for the prestigious Bailey's Women Prize for Fiction formerly known as The Orange Prize. 2. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi If you would like to read a year of history in every page of a novel, you will be at home with Homegoing. This New York Times bestseller delves into 250 years' worth of history in 300 pages. In a sweeping tale that involves two sisters separated by slavery and colonialism in 18th Century Ghana, Yaa Gyasi lends readers a different pair of eyes. This much-talked about novel is Yaa Gyasi's debut novel and has carved her a spot in Contemporary African Literature. Readers have called it emotional, brilliant, and thought provoking. Homegoing was a finalist for the 2017 Pen/Robert W. Bingham $25,000 Prize for Debut Fiction. 3. Black Moses by Alain Mabanckou This is the 11th novel of prolific writer and professor of African Literature at UCLA, Alain Mabanckou. A native of the People's Republic of Congo, Mabanckou has penned a comic tale of a young man's quest to right the wrongs in this country. The main character is reminiscent of Robin Hood and the backdrop is 1970s Congo on the brink of a revolution. Black Moses has been long listed for the $50,000 ManBooker International Prize for Literature. If it wins, the prize money will be split between the author and English translator, Helen Stevenson. 4. Long Throat Memoirs by Yemisi Aribisala This collection of essays is a labor of love by Nigerian food connoisseur, Yemisi Aribisala. Written over the span of 8 years, Long Throat Memoirs seeks to satisfy an insatiable appetite of Nigerian food and storytelling. This is a great read not just for the Nigerian palate, but for anyone whose senses come alive by aromas and well-told stories. Published by indigenous press, Cassava Republic, Long Throat Memoirs was the 2017 recipient of the prestigious John Avery Award. This award puts Yemisi Aribisala among a list of winners that includes renowned chef, Jamie Oliver. 5. The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso Writer, Yewande Omotoso has a distinct way of weaving heavy weight subject matters into stories told calmly. In The Woman Next Door, readers meet two women, two races, and apartheid South Africa broken into two. The nuances of aging and how women relate to each other are explored in this novel that moves at its own pace. The Woman Next Door is Yewande Omotoso's second novel was long listed alongside 15 other novels for the 2017 Bailey's Women Prize for Fiction. 6. Americanah by Chimamanda Adichie Both Americanah and its author, Chimamanda Adichie need no introduction. Going on a journey that spans race, hair, and feminist politics with its protagonist Ifemelu has been likened to witnessing Adichie write unhindered. Americanah found its way to the New York Times bestselling list, was called the first great African novel of the new century, and was snatched up by the duo of Lupita Nyongo and Brad Pitt for a movie adaptation. Most recently, Americanah beat out powerhouse novels to win the inaugural One Book, One New York contest. This means that in addition to the over 500,000 copies this novel has sold,millions of New Yorkers will be reading and discussing this story told like no other.
The BusinessDay CEO, May 2017 | 13 7. What is Not Yours is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi If you like a good short story collection, What is Not Yours is Not Yours should be in your library. For starters, the title is intriguing and the stories run along a cerebral stem. The mystics behind locks and keys are explored in unrelated settings and character mixes. Helen Oyeyemi is not your conventional writer and this collection is an eclectic display of the tales she is capable of constructing. There is dark comedy embedded in tales of love as well as set boundaries around seemingly mundane things. What is Not Yours is Not Yours is Oyeyemi's first collection of short stories and has recently bagged her the $5,000 PEN Open Book Award. 8. Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue When news hit the streets that this novel in manuscript form won a million-dollar book deal from publishing company, Penguin Random House, everyone went berserk with joy. Readers root both for the Cameroonian author, Imbolo and the Jonga family, a trio of Cameroonian emigrants whose struggle to get a Green Card in the United States will unite and rattle them simultaneously. The American dream is the subject theme explored in this well-told story. The 2008 recession fueled by the collapse of giant financial firms gives the plot more weight. This is the classic immigration story given a different plot and voice. This novel won the 2017 PEN/Faulkner $15,000 Award, a first time win for an African author. 9. And After Many Days by Jowhor Ile In a simple and often criticized structure, debut novelist Jowhor Ile's novel is set in Port- Harcourt, Nigeria during a tumultuous regime. A child goes missing and his family is shattered looking for him. The interwoven stories are free-floating, sometimes connected, and at other times not. This writing style has been compared by readers to life itself. This novel has been shortlisted for the £15,000 Etisalat Prize for Literature, which will be announced in May. 10. Mr & Mrs. Doctor by Julie Iromuanya The pursuit of the American Dream is revisited in this novel that features a couple living a life of lies in pursuit of a Green card. The question, what happens if you wake up from the dream is explored. Julie succeeded in building shady characters that readers can still empathize with. This novel's mix of irony, satire, and great storytelling also won it a spot among the 3 novels shortlisted for the Etisalat Prize for Literature.
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The BusinessDay CEO Magazine May 2017

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