2021 novel by Wole Soyinka
Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth is a 2021 novel written by Nigerian playwright and novelist Wole Soyinka. It was released on 28 September 2021, by BookCraft. The novel is a satirical political novel inspired by the current state of Nigerian politics. It tells the story of Dr. Kighare Menka, a surgeon tasked with providing limbs and organs for rich clients. It is his third novel, and his first since Season of Anomy in 1973.
Synopsis
The novel takes place in an imaginary version of Nigeria. A secret society made up of highly-placed members of the nation's political and religious elite trades in human body parts for use in religious rituals.
The body parts are stolen from a hospital run by Dr. Menka, a surgeon who treats war victims and whose friend Duyole is about to begin a job at the United Nations in New York City as representative of Nigeria. Duyole is targeted by mysterious forces who try to prevent him from taking the new position. It is unknown to Dr. Menka and Duyole how rich or powerful their enemy is.
Background and writing
Nobel Prize winner[1] Wole Soyinka had wanted to write mysteries and got the inspiration for this novel for almost a decade before he started writing just before the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Writing started in two sessions of 16 days between Dakar and Ghana, but the lockdown helped Soyinka to finish the novel amongst other writings.[2][3]
The novel was release in 2021, almost fifty years since Soyinka's last novel, Season of Anomy in 1973.[3][4] The title of the novel was gotten when Soyinka found out that Nigerians were among the happiest people in the world, something he found strange.[5]
In 2023, the French translation was published by Éditions du Seuil[5] and a translation in Italian was published by La nave di Teseo.[6]
The novel is intended as an allegory of the state-sponsored corruption that is common in Nigeria and similar African nations.[7]
Reception
Chronicles received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews which lauded the wordplay,[8] while Publishers Weekly in a positive review, noted that Chronicles is "A biting satire that looks at corruption in an imaginary contemporary Nigeria, Chronicles is also an intriguing and droll whodunit." and "A brilliant story that takes on politics, class, corruption, and religion from the very first chapters. It highlights Soyinka's lush, elegant language.[9]
Ben Okri, a Nigerian writer who contributed a review for The Guardian, called the book "a vast danse macabre" and "Soyinka' greatest novel, his revenge against the insanities of the nation’s ruling class and one of the most shocking chronicles of an African nation in the 21st century."[7] Columbian writer Juan Gabriel Vásquez writing for The New York Times noted that Soyinka wrote the novel as "lament for the spirit of his native Nigeria," and while the plot is "convoluted, obscure at times, [and] often tying itself in too many knots," the novel is ultimately a successful exploration of "the crossroads between corruption, religious fanaticism, endemic resentments and a legacy of colonial divisiveness."[1]
In a review for Complete Review M. A. Orthofer gave it a B+ praising the "impressively-wrought work," while noting that "the intricacies of its sentences and its plot are challenging".[10] Keishel William writing for NPR was somewhat less positive, concluding that the novel is not among Soyinka's best works, but "[t]he parts of the novel that are good are immensely good – and in true Soyinka fashion, the writing tosses you right into the middle of Nigerian life, for better or worse."[11]
