Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize

'Astonishing... remarkable, mythic' Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple

'Impressive and beautifully imagined' Economist

In a small town in western Nigeria, four young brothers take advantage of their strict father's absence from home to go fishing at a forbidden local river. They encounter a dangerous local madman who predicts that the oldest boy will be killed by one of his brothers. This prophecy unleashes a tragic chain of events of almost mythic proportions.

A sweeping, heart-racing, mystical novel about a university student in Lagos trying to save his brother, and himself, amid the chaos of Nigeria’s civil war—a story of love, friendship, and brotherhood by the two-time Booker Prize finalist.

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 and shame 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 love and unimaginable courage set during one of the most devastating conflicts in the history of the African continent. Intertwining myth and realism into a thrilling, inspired, and emotionally powerful novel, The Road to the Country is Chigozie Obioma’s masterpiece.

In a small Nigerian town, Ben and Obembe, along with their two older brothers, slip away to fish at a forbidden river. Unnoticed and carefree, they keep coming back until one day a madman's prophecy changes the course of their lives forever. Adapted by Gbolahan Obisesan from the Man Booker Prize-shortlisted novel by Chigozie Obioma, The Fishermen is a powerful allegory of brotherhood, vengeance and fate. It was first seen at HOME, Manchester, in 2018, before a tour of the UK including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, in a co-production between New Perspectives and HOME. 'A remarkable, mythic book' Alice Walker on The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019 From the author of the Booker-shortlisted novel, The Fishermen FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOKS OF 2019 'Obioma is truly the heir to Chinua Achebe' New York Times 'A major new African writer' Salman Rushdie 'A profoundly humane epic love story' Booker Prize Judges 2019 A young farmer named Chinonso prevents a woman from falling to her death. Bonded by this strange night on the bridge, he and Ndali fall in love, but it is a mismatch according to her family who reject him because of his lowly status. Is it love or madness that makes Chinonso think he can change his destiny? Set across Nigeria and Cyprus, An Orchestra of Minorities, written in the mythic style of the Igbo tradition, weaves a heart-wrenching tale about fate versus free will. _______________________________________________________________________________ 'A spectacular artistic leap' Guardian 'Brilliantly original' The Economist 'A remarkable talent' Independent 'Few contemporary novels achieve the seductive panache of Obioma's heightened language, with its mixture of English, Igbo and colourful African-English phrases, and the startling clarity of the dialogue. The story is extreme; yet its theme is a bid for mercy for that most fragile of creatures - a human' Eileen Battersby, Guardian

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019 From the author of the Booker-shortlisted novel, The Fishermen 'Obioma is truly the heir to Chinua Achebe' New York Times A young farmer named Chinonso prevents a woman from falling to her death. Bonded by this strange night on the bridge, he and Ndali fall in love, but it is a mismatch according to her family who reject him because of his lowly status. Is it love or madness that makes Chinonso think he can change his destiny? Set across Nigeria and Cyprus, An Orchestra of Minorities, written in the mythic style of the Igbo tradition, weaves a heart-wrenching tale about fate versus free will. ________________________________________________________________________________ 'A spectacular artistic leap' Guardian 'Brilliantly original' The Economist 'A remarkable talent' Independent 'Few contemporary novels achieve the seductive panache of Obioma's heightened language, with its mixture of English, Igbo and colourful African-English phrases, and the startling clarity of the dialogue. The story is extreme; yet its theme is a bid for mercy for that most fragile of creatures - a human' Eileen Battersby, Guardian

With contributions by: William Boyd, Candice Carty-Williams, Imtiaz Dharker, Roddy Doyle, Pico Iyer, Robert Macfarlane, Andy Miller, Jackie Morris, Jan Morris, Sisonke Msimang, Dina Nayeri, Chigozie Obioma, Michael Ondaatje, David Pilling, Max Porter, Philip Pullman, Alice Pung, Jancis Robinson, S.F.Said, Madeleine Thien, Salley Vickers, John Wood and Markus Zusak 'This story, like so many stories, begins with a gift. The gift, like so many gifts, was a book...' So begins the essay by Robert Macfarlane that inspired this collection. In this cornucopia of an anthology, you will find essays by some of the world's most beloved novelists, nonfiction writers, essayists and poets. 'You will see books taking flight in flocks, migrating around the world, landing in people's hearts and changing them for a day or a year or a lifetime. 'You will see books sparking wonder or anger; throwing open windows into other languages, other cultures, other minds; causing people to fall in love or to fight for what is right. 'And more than anything, over and over again, you will see books and words being given, received and read - and in turn prompting further generosity.' Published to coincide with the 20th anniversary of global literacy non-profit, Room to Read, The Gifts of Reading forms inspiring, unforgettable, irresistible proof of the power and necessity of books and reading. Inspired by Robert Macfarlane Curated by Jennie Orchard