Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
Nigerian-Authored Books You Should Read
10
items Here are eight Nigerian-authored books that emotionally obliterated me (and why you might want to let them do the same to you).
This was like having my heart DJ’d into a million little heartbreak ballads. Each story in this collection is inspired by a song, weaving together music, love, loss, and Lagos energy with the kind of intimacy that makes you feel like you’ve been give...
A Broken People's Playlist: Stories by Chimeka Garricks
Akwaeke Emezi didn’t just open a vein; they invited me to bleed alongside them. This novel is a tender, haunting exploration of grief, identity, and love in the face of loss. Vivek’s story unfolds like a slow exhale, each chapter pulling you deeper i...
The Death of Vivek Oji - Emezi, Akwaeke
Infertility, marriage, tradition, and the secrets we keep, this book took me out. Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ writes with surgical precision, peeling back the layers of a marriage that’s crumbling under societal pressure and personal tragedy. It’s beautiful, i...
Stay With Me - Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
Yes, I laughed. Yes, I was disturbed. Yes, I texted three people about how messed up this was. Braithwaite delivers a sharp, funny, and unsettling look at sisterhood, loyalty, and the way love can twist into something dangerous. It’s short, it’s biti...
My Sister, the Serial Killer - Oyinkan Braithwaite
This book felt like growing up twice in one lifetime. Set against Nigeria’s shifting political landscape, it follows Enitan from childhood to adulthood, navigating friendship, womanhood, and self-discovery. Atta writes with a quiet force that sneaks ...
Everything Good Will Come - Atta, Sefi
Ekwuyasi weaves food, family, queerness, and forgiveness into a story that feels like both a wound and a balm. The sensory detail is so rich you can almost taste the meals, but it’s the emotional depth that lingers long after the last page.
Butter Honey Pig Bread - Ekwuyasi, Francesca
This was the first Nigerian novel that truly gutted me. Through the eyes of young Kambili, Adichie explores family, faith, and the quiet terror of domestic abuse. The prose is beautiful, but it’s the way she captures silence, the things left unsaid, ...
Purple Hibiscus - Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi
A love story set against the backdrop of civil war, homophobia, and faith, this novel felt like being torn between the person you are and the person the world demands you be. Okparanta’s writing is lyrical and unflinching, leaving you with both hope ...
Under the Udala Trees - Okparanta, Chinelo
Twin sisters, separated at birth, each unaware of their magical heritage, growing up in a world where gods have been dethroned. This book swept me away with its lush, West African–inspired worldbuilding and themes of identity, power, and destiny. It’...
Daughters of NRI - Reni K. Amayo
This book did not just wreck me, it staged a full coup on my emotions. Set in a lush, West African–inspired world, Adeyemi blends magic, political resistance, and found family into a story that is as thrilling as it is devastating. Every battle, ever...
Children of Blood and Bone- Adeyemi, Tomi