“Chigozie Obioma truly is the heir to Chinua Achebe.”
~ Fiammetta Rocco, New York Times Book Review, 2015
The first name may not ring a bell to readers who are unfamiliar with contemporary African fiction. However, Chinua Achebe should strike a chord.
He is a household name worldwide as he is considered as the ‘Founding Father’ of African literature. His famous novel Things Fall Apart, published in 1958, has sold more than 20 million copies across the globe and has been translated into more than 50 languages. It is taught in schools and has been adapted into plays and television series.
What does Chigozie Obioma have in common with this author of legendary stature?
Books, of course.
Nationality- partly. Both men are from Nigeria.
Subject matter?
Chigozie Obioma made his literary debut in 2015 with The Fishermen, a tragic tale about four brothers whose lives are derailed by the fatal prophecy of a madman. This is reminiscent of Okonkwo’s fate in Achebe’s masterpiece Things Fall Apart as the hero’s tragic end is propelled by the meeting of inside and outside forces.
On an epic scale, Achebe shows how the white man’s incursion into Igbo culture brought about its gradual disintegration, aided by people within the tribe. In Obioma’s novel, we see how the words of a stranger has a powerful impact on a community that faces destruction but is unable to change the course of events.
Excerpt from The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma:
Mother was a falconer:
The one who stood on the hills and watched, trying to stave off whatever ill she perceived was coming to her children. She owned copies of our minds in the pockets of her own mind and so could easily sniff troubles early in the forming, the same way sailors discern the forming foetus of a coming storm. She occasionally eavesdropped on us in attempts to catch snippets of our conversations even before Father moved out of Akure.
There were times when we gathered at my brothers’ room, and one of us would slink to the door to detect if she stood behind it. We’d pull the door open and expose her in the act. But, like a falconer who knew her birds deeply, Mother often succeeded in tracking us. Perhaps she’d already begun to sense that something was wrong with Ikenna, but when she saw the M.K.O. calendar ruined, she smelt, she saw, she felt and she knew that Ikenna was undergoing a metamorphosis. It was thus in an attempt to find out what had started it that she’d coaxed Obembe into divulging the details of the encounter with Abulu.
Although Obembe had left out what happened after Abulu went away, the part about how he’d told us all what Abulu had said while the plane flew past, a monstrous grief seized Mother nonetheless. She had punctuated every point of the account with a trembling cry of “My God, My God,” but after Obembe finished, she stood up, biting her lips and fidgeting, visibly ripped from inside-out. She went out of our room afterwards without saying a word, shaking from head to foot as if she’d caught a cold while Obembe and I sat pondering what our brothers would do if they knew we’d divulged the secret to her.
Just about then, I heard her voice and theirs as she confronted them on why they never told her such a thing had happened. Mother had barely left the room when Ikenna stormed into ours in a rage, demanding to know which idiot had revealed the secret to her. Obembe pleaded that she forced it out of him, in a voice that was deliberately loud so Mother could hear and intervene. She did. Ikenna left us with a vow to punish us when she was not around.
The struggle between the brothers has been likened to the biblical fight between Cain and Abel prompting us to read The Fishermen as an allegorical and mythical story.
In an interview, the author described the three-tiered view of his work which, according to him, should be read on a personal, conceptual and philosophical level. Hence, the author draws upon history, traditional stories, culture and mythology in order to create universal narratives that transcend language, tribal, political and religious boundaries.
At first glance, The Fishermen can be read as a simple family story. However, it goes way beyond that. Through the author’s lens, we get a glimpse of how Nigeria, as a family unit, has been gradually weakened by internal feuds and foreign influence and seems to do nothing about it.
In Things Fall Apart, Achebe narrates the artful dismemberment of Igbo culture by the forceful introduction of Christianity by British colonialists.
In both books, the protagonists are left reeling from the consequences of their own actions.
Obioma is the rightful heir to Achebe’s legacy. Both men are masters at creating timeless worlds that merge tradition and modernity, mythology and reality, family and nation.
Things Fall Apart made history when it was first published. It won many awards and is still considered as one of the best novels to have come out of the African continent. It is a classic piece of art. Perhaps The Fishermen will enjoy the same longevity and consideration in years to come.
Unquestionably, Chigozie Abioma is an ambitious and talented writer. For all we know, his finest work is yet to come.
Further Exploration:
The Fishermen:
If you would like to read more about Chigozie Obioma’s work, you can buy the book here. The story is well-written and heartrending. This is a tale of two brothers that you will never forget. You can also visit the author’s website here.
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- Use the template below to look for information concerning Chigozie Obioma and his recent novel: An Orchestra of Minorities.
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About the Author
Thandi Ngwira Gatignol is the founder of Learn English With Africa. She was born on June 11th, 1981 in Blantyre, Malawi. When she was 19, she left her country of birth for France. She currently lives with her two daughters and husband in Poland.
Thandi holds a Bachelor’s degree in English studies obtained at the Université Paris X Nanterre in France and a Certificate in Journalism from Malawi. She has taught English as a French Ministry of Education certified teacher both in France and in Poland. She speaks six languages fluently, including French, Polish and Italian. She is now learning Kiswahili, German and Spanish. Salt No More is her debut novel and you can find her other books here on the website or on Amazon.
Course Title: African Fiction: Lesson 2-Chigozie Obioma, between Modernity and Tradition (Level B1-B2)© Learn English With Africa, May 2019
