Helon Habila Boeken

Publisher's description. An urgent investigation of the infamous 2014 kidnapping of 276 girls from a school in Nigeria. Reporting from inside the traumatised and blockaded community of Chibok, Helon Habila bears witness to this tragedy, interviewing grieving families and returning survivors, and presenting a comprehensive indictment of the terrorist crimes of Boko Haram. Penguin

Award-winning author Helon Habila has been described as "a courageous tale teller with an uncompromising vision ... a major talent" (Rawi Hage). His new novel Travelers is a life-changing encounter with those who have been uprooted by war or aspiration, fear or hope. A Nigerian graduate student who has made his home in America knows what it means to strike out for new shores. When his wife proposes that he accompany her to Berlin, where she has been awarded a prestigious arts fellowship, he has his reservations: "I knew every departure is a death, every return a rebirth. Most changes happen unplanned, and they always leave a scar."In Berlin, Habila's central character finds himself thrown into contact with a community of African immigrants and refugees whose lives previously seemed distant from his own, but to which he is increasingly drawn. The walls between his privileged, secure existence and the stories of these other Africans on the move soon crumble, and his sense of identity begins to dissolve as he finds that he can no longer separate himself from others' horrors, or from Africa. A lean, expansive, heart-rending exploration of loss and of connection, Travelers inscribes unforgettable signposts--both unsettling and luminous--marking the universal journey in pursuit of love and home

Set against a backdrop of shifting societal norms, the story explores themes of loyalty and the struggle for personal freedom amid the pressures of modernity and political ambition. Characters navigate their relationships and aspirations as they confront the challenges posed by a changing world, highlighting the tension between tradition and progress.

29 short stories by the best new African writers, selected by one of Africa's most eminent contemporary novelists, Helon Habila.

'A lean, evocative novel - part thriller, part meditation on the deadly cost of the region's oil politics. A classic coming-of-age narrative' Daily Mail From the desks of Nigeria's newsrooms, two journalists are recruited to find the kidnapped wife of a British oil engineer. Zaq, an infamous and ageing hack, knows the score, but Rufus, who is keen, young and eager to get noticed, has no idea what he's let himself in for. Journeying into the oil-rich regions of the Niger Delta, where militants and corporations rule, and life is cheap but death even cheaper, Rufus uncovers a world far darker and more corrupt than he ever imagined. 'Habila's writing has that combination of elegance and rattling-good-yarn that we associate with Conrad and Graham Greene. Terrific' The Times 'Masterly. Draws on the tradition of the classic detective novel but also operates on a deeper, metaphorical and philosophical level. Habila has a filmic ability to etch scenes on the imagination' Independent 'A strange, almost hallucinatory plunge into the dangerous world of the Niger Delta' Metro 'Lays bare the real-life tragedy of the Niger delta, in which petrodollars warp human relationships as surely as leaking crude poisons birds and fish . . . powerful, accomplished' Observer 'Reads like a post-colonial riff on Conrad's Heart of Darkness' Financial Times

Der Protagonist, ein nigerianisch-amerikanischer Akademiker, zieht mit seiner amerikanischen Frau nach Berlin, als diese dort ein renommiertes Kunststipendium erhält. In Berlin lernt er viele afrikanische Immigranten und Geflüchtete kennen und erfährt so von ihren Fluchterlebnissen. Diese Begegnungen führen bei ihm, der als schwarzer Intellektueller ein privilegiertes und sicheres Leben führt, zu einer tiefen Selbstreflexion. Er stellt sein bisheriges Leben in Frage und merkt, dass er unlösbar mit den Schicksalen der Migranten verbunden ist und sein Leben nicht länger getrennt von deren alltäglicher Not führen kann. Als er eine junge Frau aus Sambia in die Schweiz begleitet, wo sie die Todesumstände ihres Bruders klären will, steigt er auf der Rückreise nach Berlin ohne Papiere in den falschen Zug und landet in einem Flüchtlingslager am italienischen Mittelmeer … Habila lässt in seinem Roman ein Mosaik aus den unterschiedlichsten Erfahrungen von Migranten entstehen. Er zeigt damit, dass die Themen Vertreibung und Migration »ewige« Themen bleiben werden, sollten nicht Menschlichkeit und Respekt vor anderen Kulturen unsere Gesellschaften bestimmen.

From the desks of Nigeria's newsrooms, two journalists are recruited to find the kidnapped wife of a British oil engineer. Zaq, an infamous media hack, knows what's in store, but Rufus, a keen young journalist eager to get himself noticed, has no idea what he's let himself in for. Journeying into the oil-rich regions of the Niger Delta, where militants rule and the currency dealt in is the lives of hostages, Rufus soon finds himself acting as intermediary between editor, husband, captive and soldier. As he follows the trail of the missing woman, the love for the 'story' becomes about much more than just uncovering her whereabouts, and instead becomes a mission to seek out and expose the truth. In a cruel twist of fate, Rufus finds himself taking on Zaq's role much more literally than he ever anticipated, and in the midst of a seemingly endless, harrowing war, he learns that truth can often be a bitter pill to swallow...