Chigozie Obioma

The Road To The Country

SYNOPSIS

Set in Nigeria in the late 1960s, The Road to the Country is the epic story of a shy, bookish student haunted by long-held guilt who must go to war to free himself. When his younger brother disappears as the country explodes in civil war, Kunle must set out on an impossible rescue mission. Kunle’s search for his brother becomes a journey of atonement that will see him conscripted into the breakaway Biafran army and forced to fight a war he hardly understands, all while navigating the prophecies of a local Seer, he who marks Kunle as an abami eda—one who will die and return to life.

The story of a young man seeking redemption in a country on fire, Chigozie Obioma’s novel is an odyssey of brotherhood, love, and unimaginable courage set during one of the most devastating conflicts in the history of Africa. Intertwining myth and realism into a thrilling, inspired, and emotionally powerful novel, The Road to the Country is the masterpiece of Chigozie Obioma, a writer Salman Rushdie calls “a major voice” in literature.

Read Obioma’s essay, “In danger of Researching a War Story” on the author’s dangerous encounter researching the novel. 

The Road to the Country will be published in the UK (May 30, 2024) and in the US (June 04, 2024). For a chance to get an early edition, please consider pre-ordering here

“The story of a war can only be fully and truly told by both the living and the dead”

 -Igbo Proverb

REVIEWS

Chigozie Obioma’s first two novels, The Fishermen (2015) and An Orchestra of Minorities (2019), both shortlisted for the Booker Prize, established him as a master of metaphor. In Obioma’s third novel, The Road to the Country, that faculty is again on display…A powerful story of brotherhood, friendship and extraordinary courage during the Biafran conflict.”—Tobias Grey, Financial Times.

“The novel captures Nigeria’s fault lines in both language (with a mix of English, Yoruba and Igbo) and form. It flits between the real and the supernatural. The novel is narrated in part by a Yoruba seer who predicted the conflict and features an interlude with testimonies of people who died in battle, evoking an Igbo proverb: “The story of a war can only be fully and truly told by both the living and the dead.”—The Economist.

“Obioma’s The Road to the Country is a powerful testimony to the importance of stories: the stories that came before us, the stories we create for our own selves, and the stories left behind.” —Marcie McCauley, ChicagoReviewofBooks

“With heartbreaking realism, Obioma captures the dizzying atmosphere of despair, determination, and chaos surrounding the Biafran soldiers. This live-wire war story is not to be missed.” Publishers Weekly (Starred review)

“With confident empathy, Obioma remarkably imbues breathtaking beauty into the (quotidian) horrors of war. Beyond geographical and historical specificities here, the world’s harrowing, ongoing conflagrations underscore the timeless urgency of Obioma’s latest triumph.”—Booklist (starred review)

“Obioma has captured the essential elements of the war novel—the near-death experience, the tragic losses, the flickering moments of generosity and grace—but he inhabits them with a rare command, empathy, and intensity of feeling. . . . A top-tier war novel, inventive and cleareyed about the consequences of violence.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A spectacular blend of realism and mysticism, The Road to the Country is Chigozie Obioma at his finest. He is a novelist in a league of his own.”—Imbolo Mbue, New York Times bestselling author of Behold the Dreamers

New York Times bestselling author of Behold the Dreamers

Imbolo Mbue

A spectacular blend of realism and mysticism, The Road to the Country is Chigozie Obioma at his finest. He is a novelist in a league of his own.

Author of Chain-Gang All Stars, finalist for the National Book Award

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

A writer who wields both the grand and the intimate with incredible precision and power. Obioma reminds us that it is all real, even the surreal, and in his hands anything is possible. A wonderous novel.

#1 New York Times bestselling author of A Long Way Gone

Ishmael Beah

This powerfully evocative and intimate book is unarguably Obioma’s finest. Through subtle, piercing, and gripping language, he renders those seemingly simple but unforgettable moments when our lives intertwine with history, anchoring you to the pages until the end. The Road to the Country will remind you that our existence is the histories of past, present, and the future—and the importance of understanding that. This is among the best books I’ve read in a while and is certainly destined to be a classic.

Award-winning author of Here Comes the Sun and Patsy

Nicole Dennis-Benn

Chigozie Obioma has proven his mastery of craft in this sweeping, brilliant, and stunning novel. The Road to the Country is an eloquent, beautifully rendered study on time and place and the history that changed a nation. His is a gorgeous prose, and the storytelling one expects from a gifted writer. . . . A truly unforgettable read.

Author The Fortune Men, finalist for the Booker Prize

Nadifa Mohamed

Incredibly moving and hopeful. Both an adventure story and a portrait of brotherhood, love and companionship. In each beautifully crafted sentence, Obioma shows us how the best of humanity is often created under extreme pressure.

Booklist

With confident empathy, Obioma remarkably imbues breathtaking beauty into the (quotidian) horrors of war. Beyond geographical and historical specificities here, the world’s harrowing, ongoing conflagrations underscore the timeless urgency of Obioma’s latest triumph.”

Kirkus Reviews

Obioma has captured the essential elements of the war novel—the near-death experience, the tragic losses, the flickering moments of generosity and grace—but he inhabits them with a rare command, empathy, and intensity of feeling. . . . A top-tier war novel, inventive and cleareyed about the consequences of violence