Prof Wole Soyinka Releases New Novel After 48 Years

Nobel Laureate Prof Wole Soyinka will this month release a new novel, titled: Chronicles of the Happiest People on Earth.

It is coming 48 years after his two works – The Interpreters (1965) and Season of Anomy (1973).

The new work will be on sale before the end of the year.

The novel is published by Bookcraft Publishing, Ibadan.

In a statement, Soyinka gave an excerpt from the book, with the heading: A Parable From National Urban Reality.

It reads: “While the formal fact-finding panels pursue their assignment, and bewildered minds attempt to absorb the turn of events, reflect upon, and engage in informal caucuses on ‘what happened’ during, and following the authentic #ENDSARS campaign, both in the Lekki arena and in horrifying dimensions across the nation, I believe that it will not be out of place to offer a parable extracted from a forthcoming work of fiction.

“A parable, yes, but an actuality that has become virtually institutionalized across the nation. It is offered as a public service before the events of October 20/20 congeal in the minds of participants, onlookers, and consumers of the Nigerian staple of the now mandatory UFN (Unidentified Flying Narratives). The forthcoming novel from which it is extracted – Chronicles From the Land of the Happiest People in the World (BookCraft) – will be published towards the end of November 2020.”