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The Fishermen: A Novel Hardcover – April 14, 2015
| Chigozie Obioma (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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Told by nine-year-old Benjamin, the youngest of four brothers, The Fishermen is the Cain and Abel-esque story of a childhood in Nigeria, in the small town of Akure. When their father has to travel to a distant city for work, the brothers take advantage of his absence to skip school and go fishing. At the forbidden nearby river, they meet a madman who persuades the oldest of the boys that he is destined to be killed by one of his siblings. What happens next is an almost mythic event whose impact-both tragic and redemptive-will transcend the lives and imaginations of the book's characters and readers.
Dazzling and viscerally powerful, The Fisherman is an essential novel about Africa, seen through the prism of one family's destiny.
- Print length304 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherLittle, Brown and Company
- Publication dateApril 14, 2015
- Dimensions6.33 x 1 x 9.63 inches
- ISBN-100316338370
- ISBN-13978-0316338370
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Winner of the 2016 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (Debut Author)
Winner of the 2015 FT/Oppenheimer Emerging Voices Award for Fiction
Finalist for the 2015 Man Booker Prize
Finalist for the 2015 Guardian First Book Award
Finalist for the 2015 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
Longlisted for the 2016 International Dylan Thomas Prize
Longlisted for the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature
Named a Best Book of the Year on more than a dozen lists, including the New York Times Book Review, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and NPR
"Entrancing.... Its rising tension and poetic grace make this one of the finest novels to come from Africa in years."--Wall Street Journal "Best Books of 2015"
"In its exploration of the murderous and the mysterious, the mind's terrors and a vibrant Africa, this debut novel is heir to Chinua Achebe."--New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice
"Engrossing.... [Obioma's] language is rich and hypnotic, and nearly every page is filled with an unexpected and perfectly rendered description.... This is a dark and beautiful book by a writer with seemingly endless promise."--Michael Schaub, NPR
"The most frustrating thing about THE FISHERMEN is that the author has no other books for the reader to devour once the final page is reached."--Trine Tsouderos, Chicago Tribune
"[A] darkly mythic first novel [that] feels as if it might predate modernity itself.... It's hard to know where Obioma...can go with his literary career after this pitiless, unstinting start.... Perhaps he will become a kind of African Cormac McCarthy, committed to a stark vision of life in which our pretensions to civilization are forever held up and exposed as skin deep: that what really runs us is deeper down, in the blood."--Kevin Nance, USA Today (3/4 stars)
"A striking, controlled and masterfully taut debut.... The tale has a timeless quality that renders it almost allegorical and it is the more powerful for it."--Financial Times
"Part Bildungsroman, part Greek tragedy, THE FISHERMEN may be the most interesting debut novel to emerge from Nigeria this year.... In a first novel full of deceptive simplicity, lyrical language and playful Igbo mythology and humour, [Obioma] uses the madman's apocalyptic vision for the family as a way of conjuring up Nigeria's senseless body politic. Even a child can tell that this is no way to run a country. And yet for Benjamin, a narrator caught up in tragedy, there is also redemption. This is an impressive and beautifully imagined work."--The Economist
"Frank and lyrical."--New Yorker
"Arresting.... Obioma brings terrific authorial dexterity to the family's story and its small place in Nigeria, and evokes a worldview which brings with it a terrible tragedy. This is the best novel I have read so far this year, and that, I can assure you, is saying plenty."--Kathrine A. Powers, Christian Science Monitor
"Inspired by his native Nigeria and, by extension, the contradictions and marvels of Africa, Obioma is an articulate and sometimes lyrical storyteller.... A dynamic new voice from Africa--and one that deserves a listen."--Ofeibea Quist-Arcton,NPR'sBest Books of 2015
"This year's most promising African newcomer may well prove to be Chigozie Obioma.... In his exploration of the mysterious and the murderous, of the terrors that can take hold of the human mind, of the colors of life in Africa, with its vibrant fabrics and its trees laden with fruit, and most of all in his ability to create dramatic tension in this most human of African stories, Chigozie Obioma truly is the heir to Chinua Achebe."--Fiametta Rocco, New York Times, "100 Notable Books of 2015"
"Awesome in the true sense of the word: crackling with life, freighted with death, vertiginous both in its style and in the elemental power of its story. Few novels deserve to be called 'mythic,' but Chigozie Obioma's THE FISHERMEN is certainly one of them. A truly magnificent debut."--Eleanor Catton, author of The Luminaries (Man Booker Prize)
"This strange, imaginative debut probes the nature of belief and the power of family bonds."--Christine Emba, New Criterion
"This promising debut spins a simple, almost mythological conceit into a heartbreaking elegy to Nigeria's lost promise."--Helon Habila, Guardian
"Obioma writes with gorgeous restraint reminiscent of the intricate prose in a Tolstoy novella. Every sentence delivers a precise and heartfelt blow. Hardly anyone writing today is delivering this level of intricacy, lyricism and control. Add to that, the urgency and importance of his message. It just doesn't get better than this. Get used to the name: Obioma is here to stay."--Alexandra Fuller, author of Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness
"An evocative fable-like tale."--The Week
"A strikingly accomplished debut, hailing Chigozie Obioma as a bold new voice in Nigerian fiction."--Lucy Scholes, Independent
"Should I call Obioma the next Bulawayo? Adichie or Achebe? He could be called all of these things, but THE FISHERMEN is also none of these things. It is a novel that is all its own.... [That] remind[s] me of why I love reading: to be shown what it might be like inside another culture; to slip between someone else's ears; to feel a life that I won't get to live."--Claire Cameron, The Millions
"Obioma's remarkable fiction is at once urgently, vividly immediate, yet simultaneously charged with the elemental power of myth."--Peter Ho Davies, author of The Welsh Girl
"Grips readers from the very first chapter."--Caroline Hallemann, Travel & Leisure
"THE FISHERMEN establishes Obioma as a writer to be taken seriously.... Ingenious, subtle, ambitious and intriguing."--Stuart Kelly, Times Literary Supplement
"Unforgettable.... There is something almost mystical about Obioma's writing as well as his story, and it makes this book nearly impossible to put down."--Vol. 1 Brooklyn
"Folklore-infused."--Megan O'Grady, Vogue
"[A] deeply imaginative, stirring debut novel.... For those interested in a gripping, at times nail-biting, read, give this new author a try."--Coastal Living
"Seamlessly interweaving the everyday and the elemental, Obioma's strange, imaginative debut probes the nature of belief and the power of family bonds.... Obioma excels at juxtaposing sharp observation, rich images of the natural world, and motifs from biblical and tribal lore; his novel succeeds as a convincing modern narrative and as a majestic reimagining of timeless folklore."--Publishers Weekly, (Starred Review)
"Elegantly near-mythic.... Made vivid by the well-rendered specifics, Obioma's quietly unfolding story of family tragedy gathers strength as its cycle of violence spins faster and faster."--Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal
"The talented Obioma exhibits a richly nuanced understanding of culture and character.... A powerful, haunting tale of grief, healing, and sibling loyalty."--Kirkus Reviews
"[A] striking debut."--BookPage
"Chigozie Obioma's gift and the authenticity of his voice are immediately apparent. What makes the narrative of THE FISHERMEN so striking and seductive is that it broaches magic realism yet stays entirely, and convincingly, in the realm of real life. Magic believed in is stark reality. One finds oneself in full suspension of disbelief that old legends and myths persist in perpetual reincarnation in present-day lives so that every character, scenes, and imagery jump off the page, firmly to lodge in the reader's mind."--Irini Spanidou, author of Before
"I find the author Chigozie Obioma formidably articulate and with great talent. I believe that he has it in him to become one of the best writers of the upcoming crop of young African authors."--Nuruddin Farah, author of Maps and Hiding in Plain Sight
About the Author
Obioma was named one of Foreign Policy's 100 Leading Global Thinkers of 2015. His work has been translated into more than 25 languages and adapted into stage. He is an assistant professor of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His second novel, An Orchestra of Minorities, was a finalist for the 2019 Booker Prize.
Product details
- Publisher : Little, Brown and Company; First Edition, First Printing (April 14, 2015)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 304 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0316338370
- ISBN-13 : 978-0316338370
- Item Weight : 1.1 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.33 x 1 x 9.63 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,068,925 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #12,488 in Coming of Age Fiction (Books)
- #15,347 in Family Life Fiction (Books)
- #45,919 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors

Chigozie Obioma is a Nigerian award-winning writer whose first novel, The Fishermen, was a finalist for the Man Booker prize and won a number of prizes including an NAACP Image award, an LA Art Seidenbaum award, among others and was translated into 26 languages. His second novel, An Orchestra of Minorities will be published in January 2019.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonReviewed in the United States on March 22, 2019
Top reviews from the United States
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In my opinion, I really liked the book. The whole book was very coherent and descriptive. Also, I liked the whole theme behind the book, which was community and family connection. This whole book is an allegory for what was happening in Nigeria at the time. Obioma was very descriptive throughout the whole book in each scenario. He portrayed the lives of the people in Nigeria at this time really well. Also, the ending was very captivating in that the whole book was just Ben recalling the past year to a jury. And this whole story took place within a year. This book relates to In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. Both Alvarez and Obioma described families struggling within a country. However, in In the Time of the Butterflies, Alvarez writes about the Mirabal sisters and their oppression in the Dominican Republic while Obioma writes about a family that was once really close lose all connections. But they both expose the life of families in a specific country during the time.
This book has an really interesting plot. Not only that, but it is also super relatable. Anyone will be able to connect with at least one character in the story. There was continuous action, and something new or some conflict always occurred, keeping readers attached and not wanting to put the book down. However, the whole book seemed very climactic, consistently building up the book, but it took away from the realism from the actual story. Also, some of the book was predictable because Obioma foreshadows a lot, but this was also a positive for the book as Obioma executed this really well. Another good thing about the book is that is was really easy and simple to read even though it had a deeper meaning behind it. Having some background information about Nigeria at the time will also make it easier to connect to the book. So therefore, this book is recommended for everyone to read because it is interesting overall.
Top reviews from other countries
BY
CHIGOZIE OBIOMA
Many civilisations are damaged from within. This damage is often instigated by external forces. Ben’s family who live in Akure in Nigeria are to experience a parallel imploding. The life they once knew, the daily routine of a happy normal life will be altered forever when their father moves away to work. Their mother will be left to raise her six children and to run her stall at the local market.
The story of The Fishermen narrated by Ben, spans a decade depicting the lives of a large family.
‘He wanted us to be many so that there could be diversity of success in the family.’
Ikenna, Boja, Obembe, Benjamin, David and their sister Nkem along with their parents, struggle to cope in a country disrupted by a recently botched election. The boys watch their father exacting his power within the household and they absorb this masculinity which moulds them profoundly for the future.
Their mother is the first member of the family to change:
‘She’d acquired the gait of a wet mouse’
This is how Ben describes their mother emerging from the frantic hushed conversations with their father over his impending departure.
Abulu who is the ‘local lunatic’ and a dangerously displaced individual casts a curse on the family by way of a prediction. Superstition manifests itself. Ikenna is the eldest and it is towards him this prediction is aimed and for Ikenna this is devastating because;
‘Little things could unbridle his soul.’
Suffice it to say heart breaking years ensue for the family. But the genuine love the children share for each other and for their parents is brilliantly highlighted time and time again throughout the story. True family love and sibling bonding resurrects the reader’s faith in human nature despite the harrowing events which transpire throughout the book. The experience for each family member is different and is impacted according to age.
This is how Ben explains his two younger siblings escape from the worst of the fallout from the past. They were like Egrets.
‘The wool white birds that appear in flocks after a storm…their wings unspotted their lives unscathed.’
The Fishermen is a book that deserves to be read again and again and I believe that one reading of this work does not do it justice. This is a book about family and of a family’s strengths and weaknesses combined. It is a book that emphasises how things can be damaged from within due to outside influence. Whether it is a family or a country, an external force can impact greatly. It is a story of courage, conviction and belief and the global story of every parent’s unconditional love for their children.
A disturbingly brilliant book.
A wonderful book and so was his following novel - Orchestra of Minorities. More please.
IF you are looking at this review - BUY! You will not regret it.
It is quite a dark story. At first to be honest, I thought it was an autobiography. I don't tend to read the summary of a story before buying a book, and the story seemed so personal (this is probably one of the traits that makes it very well written). As illustrated by the summary (which I read afterwards to realise that it was actually fiction), it is based on the Abel and Cain story, but it goes even beyond that.
It is a very overwhelming book and it really traps you in, thus it is not for the faint-hearted. I recommend it.
A map is on the front page which is always a good start to a story. It's a hand drawn map and the simplicity leads into the tone of the book.
The narrator is looking back at his life after a time lapse of twenty years which allows for an adult perspective and the use of adult language even though there is a first person narrative.
Throughout there is a chaotic writing style which makes the book very hard to read. The author jumps about with the narrative and there is always the impression that important information is being missed out.
There are some fantastic descriptions and at times the scenes in the country could almost be seen in the mind but these were spoilt by too many unnecessary metaphors.
I'm unfamiliar with this style of writing and never settled enough to enjoy the story. I needed more explanation and the lack of this meant the book took a huge effort to understand which makes it fail for me.
It was too verbose and confusing to be enjoyable and many of the words/phrases were clunky and didn't add enough to the plot.
I can see why this book was drawn accolades as it has such an unusual style but not one that I enjoyed.








