Words leave imprints in your mind like footprints in the sand...
beach reading
starry skies to read under
reading in nature
  • Location: Akure

The Fishermen

The Fishermen

Why a Booktrail?

2000s: The Cain and Abel-esque story of a childhood in Nigeria

  • ISBN: 978-0316338356
  • Genre: Fiction

What you need to know before your trail

Told by nine-year-old Benjamin, the youngest of four brothers, The Fisherman 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.

Travel Guide

Travel BookTrail style to Nigeria with The Fishermen

Nigeria is under military rule at the time of the novel. The rule of General Sani Abacha is harsh and raw. The country and its people are going through many changes politically and socially. There is a strong current of national unrest. Add to this the waves of westernization and modernity then you have a country undergoing a large transformation.

“When the British left in 1960 and Nigeria gained independence, the people immediately saw their differences….(three major tribes with nothing in common, cohabiting to form a ‘nation’)…and that they could not exist as a nation, but it was too late. I intend Abulu as a metaphor for this entity that infiltrates the lives of others, creates chaos through mere words, and causes suffering among the people, while the family of four boys is a metaphor for the major tribes of Nigeria.” – Chigozie Obioma

Akure

Akure is a city in south-western Nigeria. This is where the nvoel is set and where the boys play by the river.

Yola

Yola, meaning ‘Great Plain’ or ‘Vast Plain Land’, is the capital city and administrative center of Adamawa State, Nigeria. Located on the Benue River

The landscape of this novel looks at how much of our lives occur because they are roadmapped by others.

BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Fishermen

Destination: Akure, Nigeria Author/guide: Chigozie Obioma  Departure Time: 2000s

Back to Results

Featured Book

A Poisoner’s Tale

1651: Inspired by the true story of Giulia Tofana: The Angel of Death with a Vial of Vengeance

Read more