It has been a good year so far for Nigerian author, Chigozie Obioma as his debut novel, The Fishermen' which was shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Award in July is long-listed for the 2015 Guardian First Book Award.
Guardian First Book Award is a literary award by British national daily newspaper The Guardian that annually recognizes one book by a new writer. It was established in 1999. The prize is worth £10,000.
The Fishermen” is a biblical parable set in the 1990s, when Nigeria was under the military dictatorship of Gen. Sani Abacha. Nine-year-old Benjamin, the narrator, is the youngest of four brothers. His father is a progressive man who works for the Central Bank of Nigeria. Education and professional ambition, he believes, are the only antidotes to the canker of corruption that has spread into every corner of his country’s life. Benjamin’s father wants his children to “dip their hands into rivers, seas, oceans of this life and become successful: doctors, pilots, professors, lawyers.”
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