2005 Caine winner and author of the short story collection A Life Elsewhere, Segun Afolabi, last week won this year's Authors' Club Best First Novel Award for his debut novel Goodbye Lucille, published this month in Vintage paperback. Afolabi collected the £1000 award at The Arts Club in London's Mayfair. Chair of judges, writer & publisher Carmen Callil, said of Afolabi, "His voice reaches out and after I read Goodbye Lucille it lingered in my thoughts. I'm sure he will go on to make a big contribution to literature." 
Excerpt from Goodbye Lucille‘This highway, where my parents died. They were driving the same way. Look! Look at that man!’ I pointed. A Medusa-haired wanderer meandered along the centre of the road, naked. He carried no belongings. The filthy matted hair that hung down his back and face seemed his only accessory. The driver braked and swerved to avoid him. As we overtook him we could see his skin, painted with dust. His mouth moved rapidly.
Good writing. The description of the road is chilling.
ReplyDeleteI posted about Zimbabwe.
Congratulations to Mr. Afolabi.
ReplyDeleteNigeria is a nation of great writers, with lazy readers who spend over $76 million monthly on GSM phone calls, but cannot boast of reading the works of their great writers.
Interesting thought, that, Orikinla.
ReplyDeleteAfolabi's "Goodbye Lucille" is a well written book of fiction. It is a novel i would gladly recommend to anyone. A review from me is in the works.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Mr. Afolabi. I'll be sure to read his book.
ReplyDeleteWow, Katrina. Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDelete