Looking for Transwonderland by Noo Saro-Wiwa

Looking for Transwonderland

Travels in Nigeria

Noo Saro-Wiwa

Catapult · Print & ebook · August 21, 2012

A “remarkable chronicle” of a journey back to this West African nation after years of exile (The New York Times Book Review).

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Who it’s for
A frank, witty return journey finds Nigeria in its contradictions, histories, landscapes, and unforgettable people.
Themes
Nigerian culture and history, Return and belonging, Love-hate relationship with home
Pacing
Reflective

About this book

A “remarkable chronicle” of a journey back to this West African nation after years of exile (The New York Times Book Review). Noo Saro-Wiwa was brought up in England, but every summer she was dragged back to visit her father in Nigeria—a country she viewed as an annoying parallel universe where she had to relinquish all her creature comforts and sense of individuality. After her father, activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, was killed there, she didn’t return for several years.

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Then she decided to come to terms with the country her father given his life for. Traveling from the exuberant chaos of Lagos to the calm beauty of the eastern mountains; from the eccentricity of a Nigerian dog show to the decrepit kitsch of the Transwonderland Amusement Park, she explores Nigerian Christianity, delves into the country’s history of slavery, examines the corrupting effect of oil, and ponders the huge success of Nollywood. She finds the country as exasperating as ever, and frequently despairs at the corruption and inefficiency she encounters. But she also discovers that it is far more beautiful and varied than she had ever imagined, with its captivating thick tropical rain forest and ancient palaces and monuments—and most engagingly and entertainingly, its unforgettable people. “The author allows her love-hate relationship with Nigeria to flavor this thoughtful travel journal, lending it irony, wit and frankness.” —Kirkus Reviews

A Country Revisited

A frank, witty return journey finds Nigeria in its contradictions, histories, landscapes, and unforgettable people.

Come here for

  • Travel writing with wit, candor, and a love-hate edge
  • Nigeria explored through history, faith, oil, and popular culture

Expect

  • An often exasperated voice alongside genuine wonder
  • A wide-ranging journey rather than a tidy verdict

Where it sits

West Africa Travel70%
Personal Memoirs50%
Travel Writing31%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Personal Memoirs
  • West Africa Travel
  • Travel Writing
Authors
Noo Saro-Wiwa
Publisher
Catapult
Published
August 21, 2012
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Nigerian culture and history · Return and belonging · Love-hate relationship with home
Reading lane
Personal Memoirs