It’s been almost fifty years since Wole Soyinka, Africa’s first Nobel laureate for literature, last published a novel.

‘He is the best there is today, a poet and thinker who knows both how the world actually works and how the world should work.’ ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

It’s been almost fifty years since Wole Soyinka, Africa’s first Nobel laureate for literature, last published a novel. Chronicles From the Land of the Happiest People on Earth is, his fellow writers agree, worth the wait.

The novel is many things: A satire, a whodunit mystery and an expansive assessment of the last 60 years of Nigerian history. It’s full of wordplay and remarkable characters and provides a window into contemporary Nigeria and beyond.