A look at some books that tell beautiful stories about Lagos

Happy Independence day everyone!

Lagos is a very beautiful city, it is the most populous city in Nigeria, the second fastest growing city in Africa and the seventh most populous in the world.

And on this special day i would like to showcase more works from Lagos. So here are 5 recent books and be it the slums, a futuristic version of the city or an alien invasion, they all have one thing in common - they bring us Lagos.

Through them we learn about Bar Beach, the 'joys' of go-slow and being a returnee in cosmopolitan Lagos. As always, this isn't an extensive list, but more of a glimpse at what is out there.

1. Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria by Noo Saro-Wiwa (2012)

Although not solely set in Lagos (Noo Saro-Wiwa traves to nearly every country in Nigeria), her journey does begin in "The Centre of Excellence", Lagos - a place that greets you with a simple sign: 'This is Lagos' - take it or leave it. As Saro-Wiwa explains:

'If Lagos were a person, she would wear a Gucci jacket and a cheap hair weave, with a mobile phone in one hand, a second set in her back pocket, and the mother of all scowls on her face. She would usher you impatiently through her front door at an extortionate price before smacking you to the floor for taking too long about it. "This," she would growl while searching your pockets for more cash, "is Lagos."'

2. Americanah (2013) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Americanah explores race, identity, self perception, politics, love… a whole host of themes that come together beautifully through vivid, descriptive language which, I believe, really draws you into the experiences of each character.

And most importantly, the beauty of Lagos came alive in this book as the author description of when Ifemelu returned to Lagos is breathtaking, hilarious and totally relatable.

3. Lagos 2060 (2013) edited by Ayodele Arigbabu

What will it be like to live in Lagos 100 years after Nigeria gained independence from the British? In 2010, eight writers came together to contribute stories to an anthology on fictional/futuristic takes on the city of Lagos via a workshop tagged LAGOS_2060, conceived to commemorate Nigeria's golden jubilee.

In LAGOS_2060 - there are wars and near wars as Lagos threatens to secede from the Nigerian state to have full control of its own economy. There are robots, amphibious speed trains, psychedelic drugs and highly trained security operatives with conflicts of interest,  but more importantly, there are ubiquitous Lagos people, whose industry and inventiveness seems largely unchanged, despite how much has travailed in the intervening half century.

4. Lagoon (2014) by Nnedi Okorafor

In Lagoon, three strangers meet on Bar Beach in Lagos - a marine biologist with a tumultuous marriage, a rap star trying to find quiet and a soldier desperate to contact his family. Each is there searching for solace, each with her or his distinct, complicated life. But this evening the sea is uneasy and the strangers find themselves bound together when a spaceship crashes off the coast of Lagos. This strange encounter changes each of them unequivocally, and sets them on a path to save the city.

5. Into the Go Slow - Bridgett M. Davis (2014)

In 1987 Detroit, twenty-one year old Angie passes time working in a mall and watching sitcoms with her mom. But beneath the surface, she is consumed by thoughts of her sister's death years earlier in Nigeria. Ella had introduced Angie to Black Power and a vision of returning to Africa. On impulse, Angie travels to Lagos and begins to retrace Ella's steps.

Against a backdrop of the city's infamous go-slow - traffic as wild and unpredictable as a Fela lyric - she uncovers some harsh truths. For anyone who has wished to be of a different era, this book captures the pain of living vicariously and the exhilaration of finding yourself.

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