The Fishermen A Novel [Paperback]

A striking debut novel about an unforgettable childhood, by a Nigerian writer theNew York Timeshas crowned the heir to Chinua Achebe.

Told by nine-year-old Benjamin, the youngest of four brothers, THE FISHERMEN is the Cain and Abel-esque story of a childhood in Nigeria, in the small town of Akure. When their father has to travel to a distant city for work, the brothers take advantage of his absence to skip school and go fishing. At the forbidden nearby river, they meet a madman who persuades the oldest of the boys that he is destined to be killed by one of his siblings. What happens next is an almost mythic event whose impact-both tragic and redemptive-will transcend the lives and imaginations of the book's characters and readers. Dazzling and viscerally powerful, THE FISHERMEN is an essential novel about Africa, seen through the prism of one family's destiny.Chigozie Obioma was born in Akure, Nigeria. His work has appeared in theVirginia Quarterly Review,TransitionandThe Millions, among others. Obioma has lived in Nigeria, Cyprus, and Turkey, and currently resides in the United States, where he teaches Literature and Writing at the University of Nebraska.The Fishermenis his first novel.Winner of the 2016Los Angeles TimesBook Prize (The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction)

Winner of the 2016 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (Debut Author)

Winner of the 2015 FT/Oppenheimer Emerging Voices Award for Fiction

Finalist for the 2015 Man Booker Prize

Finalist for the 2015 Guardian First Book Award

Finalist for the 2015 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize

Longlisted for the 2016 International Dylan Thomas Prize

Longlisted for the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature

Named a Best Book of the Year on more than a dozen lists, including theNew York Times Book Rel“Ð