Ghostroots

The supernatural looms over the grime and sweat of everyday life in Lagos in this debut collection of stories from a prize-winning young Nigerian writer. A woman sees the ghost of her abusive mother in her daughter's face. A mysterious virus wipes out all the boys on one street. A young architect turns up to measure a house, only to find that her drawings make no sense, and the house seems to resist her... The Lagos of these twelve sinister and beguiling stories is multi-faceted, peopled by Pentecostal Christians and exasperated atheists; by tight-knit extended families and struggling single fathers. Here are characters cursed by guilt, bound by the ties of ancestors and community; or enchanted by the allure of mysticism and would-be prophets. There are gossips and party girls - and a schoolboy followed home by a group of tribal masquerades, cloaked in feathers and twinkling beads. Yes, his mother has warned him not to bring strangers home, but he is sure she will understand ... Exploring the dark borders between psychology and superstition, these feverishly imaginative stories of trauma, betrayal, terror and love lay bare the forces of myth, tradition, gender, sexuality and modernity in Nigerian society. Powered by a deep empathy, and glinting with humour and insight, they announce a major new literary talent.… (more)