Fishing Boy

"The best book for men of all time." - British GQ Magazine. Whenever I think of our story, and how our never-separated family was separated from that morning, I really hope—even after twenty years—that he had never left and never received that transfer notice. Until that announcement, everything was in order: my father left for work every morning, and my mother, who sold fresh food at an open-air market stall, took care of me and my five siblings. And we, like most children in Akure, have to go to school. Everything goes as it should. We rarely think about the past... I will be a pilot, or the President of Nigeria, or a rich man who can afford a helicopter - because the future is in our hands. The future is a blank canvas and anything is possible. However, my father's transfer to Iola changed everything: time, seasons, and the past became important, and we longed for the past even more than the present and the future. Comparable to "The Kite Runner", a story that is painful but ultimately redeeming. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, selected by the editors of The New York Times; selected as the "Best Book of the Year" by 17 media including National Public Radio, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, The New York Times, The Observer, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, and the British GQ Magazine. Media comments: This novel can only be described as "awesome". It exudes the vitality of life and carries the weight of death. Both the writing style and the raw power of the story are dazzling. There are few novels that truly possess the power of myth, and The Fishing Boy is definitely one such book. A magnificent masterpiece. ——Eleanor Catton (author of "The Luminous Body" and the youngest Booker Prize winner in history) This painful but ultimately redeeming story has a clearly visible beauty, and its direct narrative power took my breath away... I read it over and over again, and although I was familiar with the plot and characters like a biblical story, I always shed tears at the amazing ending of each line. ——Elena Rabin (Editor of the British edition of "The Boy Who Fished") "The Boy Who Fished" obviously has its political metaphors, but it is not excessive... The exploration of mystery and carnage, heart-wrenching fear, and the color of African life is full-textured and fruitful. What is particularly highlighted is his talent for creating dramatic tension in this extremely human African story... Chigochi Obioma is undoubtedly the successor of Chinua Achebe. ——"The New York Times" stunning debut novel... I often feel as if I am reading Marquez's "A Premeditated Murder". ——BBC Radio 4 The most frustrating thing is that the author only writes this one book, and once he reads it, there is no more. --"Chicago Herald" This story swallowed me whole and spit it out again. Dizzy and breathless. ——Book Riots