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by Deji Bryce Olukotun
1993. Houston. Dr. Wale Olufunmi, lunar rock geologist, has a life most Nigerian immigrants would kill for, but then most Nigerians aren't Wale—a great scientific mind in exile with galactic ambitions.
Then comes an outlandish order: steal a piece of the moon. With both personal and national glory at stake, Wale manages to pull off the near impossible, setting out on a journey back to Nigeria that leads anywhere but home. Compelled by Wale's impulsive act, Nigerians traces arcs in time and space from Houston to Stockholm, from Cape Town to Bulawayo, picking up on the intersecting lives of a South African abalone smuggler, a freedom fighter's young daughter, and Wale's own ambitious son. Deji Olukotun's debut novel defies categorization—a story of international intrigue that tackles deeper questions about exile, identity, and the need to answer an elusive question: what exactly is brain gain?
"A crime thriller that is out of this world." —The Brooklyn Paper
"An exquisite blend of unpredictable twists and lightening-speed plot." —The Guardian
"Fast-paced, well-written and packed with insight and humor. Olukotun is a very talented storyteller. " —Charles Yu, National Book Award 5-Under-35 winner and author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
This information about Nigerians in Space was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Deji Bryce Olukotun graduated with an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Cape Town, and also holds degrees from Yale College and Stanford Law School. He became the inaugural Ford Foundation Freedom to Write Fellow at PEN American Center, a human rights organization that promotes literature and defends free expression. His work has been published in Guernica, Joyland, Words Without Borders, World Literature Today, Molussus, The London Magazine, Men's Health, Litnet, and international law journals. A passionate soccer fan, he grew up in Hopewell, New Jersey.
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