The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa Synopsis
Fifteen-year-old Andrew Aziza lives in Kontagora, Nigeria, where his days are spent about town with his droogs, Slim and Morocca, grappling with his fantasies about white girls – especially blondes – and wondering who his father is. When he’s not in church, at school or attempting to form ‘Africa’s first superheroes’, he obsesses over mathematical theorems, ideas of black power and HXVX: 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 claims, despite his mother’s denials, to be Andy’s father, and the gathering of an anti-Christian mob is headed for the church – both set to shake the foundations of everything Andy knows and loves.
The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa announces a dazzling, distinctive, new literary voice. Profound, exhilarating and highly original, this tragicomic novel is a stunning exploration of the contemporary African ‘condition’, the relentless infiltration of Western culture and, most of all, the ordinary but impossible challenges of coming of age in a turbulent world.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781526637994 |
| Publication date: |
13th April 2023 |
| Author: |
Stephen Buoro |
| Publisher: |
Bloomsbury Circus an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
313 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Modern and Contemporary Fiction
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| Other Genres: |
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Stephen Buoro Press Reviews
'The pleasure here is as much in the journey as the destination, with sex, terrorism and, er, catechisms in the mix. Buoro has energy to burn -- Independent Craft and verve abound in this tragicomic coming-of-age debut fuelled by the lapel-grabbing voice of its 15-year-old narrator, Andy . . . Both sweet and sour, it offers a family story, a thwarted romance and a story of friendship' - Daily Mail
'A smart and incisive coming-of-age tragicomedy' - i
'The vivid immediacy of Buoro’s prose is transporting, his similes as alive as the scenes he paints . . . [Buoro's] writing deserves to inspire a generation of superheroes' - The Times
'This ticks all the boxes of a literary blockbuster . . . Buoro commits to representing diversity within Blackness, the way Toni Morrison does . . . You wouldn’t be wrong to read the book as satire of a certain kind of Black aspiration, or as an allegory of Africa and the western imperialist project. Or you could read it as itself, without abstracting its particularities: the story of a boy doing his best under the assault of powerful western influences and illusions' - Guardian
'An assured debut . . . [Buoro] brings Andy’s world to life with such immediacy' - Independent
'Buoro is a writer of imagination and flair . . . His sentences are mad, boisterous, incantatory – and, in a continent where rhythm is as common as praying, quite singular. The prose on any page could only be his. And Andy Africa is an unforgettable character … Contemporary African literature is rich in coming-of-age stories. For its sheer energy, The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa is among the best' - Economist
'An exhilarating, tragicomic novel that questions what it means to come of age in Nigeria today . . . A voice unlike any other' - Observer
'Beautiful, intelligent and heart-wrenching -- NoViolet Bulawayo, author of GLORY and WE NEED NEW NAMES A barnstorming, heartbreaking debut . . . Tackling the perils of carving out a unique identity in a world of carnage and confusion, in the shadow of colonialism, this assured, engaging book, will make you fall in love with teenager Andy Aziza, and will undoubtedly make a star of Stephen Buoro' - Harper's Bazaar, Highlights for 2023
