The Road to the Country

Praise

“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)

“Mr. Obioma describes the battlefields and the swampy terrain of the Niger Delta with disturbing viscerality. . . . 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 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.”—Chicago Review of Books

“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

“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.”—Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of Chain-Gang All Stars, finalist for the National Book Award

“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 . . . This is among the best books I’ve read in a while and is certainly destined to be a classic.”—Ishmael Beah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Long Way Gone

“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. . . . A truly unforgettable read.”—Nicole Dennis-Benn, award-winning author of Here Comes the Sun and Patsy
 
“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.”—Nadifa Mohamed, author The Fortune Men, finalist for the Booker Prize

“Absorbing . . . A tale Nigerians need to read.”—The Nation (Nigeria)