A Day of Fallen Night (The Roots of Chaos)
Crackling with energy and intelligence, this debut is the "smart, subversive, funny, heartbreaking" (Kamila Shamsie) story of an exceptional teenager coming of age in the shadow of colonialism and communal violence in Nigeria.
Andrew Aziza is an unusually smart fifteen-year-old in Kontagora, Nigeria. He lives with his fiercely protective mother, Gloria, and fantasizes obsessively about white girls-especially blondes. When he's not in church, at school, or hanging about town with his droogs wishing to become one of "Africa's first superheroes," he's contemplating the larger questions with his teacher Zahrah and his equally brilliant friend Fatima, a Hausa-Fulani girl who has feelings for him. Together they discuss mathematical theorems, Black power, and what Andy has deemed the Curse of Africa. Sure enough, the reluctantly nicknamed Andy Africa soon falls hopelessly and inappropriately in love with the first white girl he lays eyes on: Eileen. But at the church party held to celebrate her arrival, multiple crises loom. An unfamiliar man there claims, despite his mother's denials, to be Andy's father, and an anti-Christian mob has gathered, headed for the church. In the ensuing havoc and its aftermath, Andy is forced to reckon with his identity and desires and determine how to live on the so-called Cursed Continent. The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa announces a dazzlingly unique literary voice. Crackling with energy, this tragicomic novel provides a stunning lens into contemporary African life, the complicity of the West, and the impossible challenges of growing up in a turbulent world.Show more
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Community Reviews
Priory of an Orange Tree felt complicated and obfuscated. So I'm not sure why I read A Day of Fallen Night except that I was in the mood for getting lost in language and that is something that Samantha Shannon can do for me. I am certainly glad that the library conspired to drop this gem of a novel on me. The story was easier to follow and the characters were likable. I felt at home with them. I liked that I was being told three separate stor...read more
finally finished this monster oh my GOODNESS it's been almost a MONTH
ok!!! wow!!!! 3.5 - this was so vibrant and well-written!! i loved many parts of this sooo much, especially glorian and tunuva <3333 and all the worldbuilding and setup for the events of priory as well. mostly i love how absolutely gay this book is, THIS is what we (i) want in terms of gay fantasy !!! it doesn't feel tokenized at all, it's just such a natural part of the worl...read more
ok!!! wow!!!! 3.5 - this was so vibrant and well-written!! i loved many parts of this sooo much, especially glorian and tunuva <3333 and all the worldbuilding and setup for the events of priory as well. mostly i love how absolutely gay this book is, THIS is what we (i) want in terms of gay fantasy !!! it doesn't feel tokenized at all, it's just such a natural part of the worl...read more
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