Lit in Translation

Born on a Tuesday

Born on a Tuesday

Elnathan John (born 1982)

English editions

Written in English

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Dantala is a quiet, clever boy who sleeps with other street boys under a kuka tree in the far northwest of Nigeria. Hired with them by a political party to stir up trouble at election time, he takes part in an arson attack that goes wrong and has to flee, leaving his best friend behind. A mosque takes him in, and its sheikh comes to treat him as a favoured apprentice. Yet his loyalties pull in different directions: his mother lies dying in his home village, his brothers belong to a rival sect, and an adviser close to the sheikh is gathering followers for a radical movement. As religious and political violence engulfs the city, Dantala has to choose who he will become.

AI-generated summary

About the book

Form
Novel
Length
263 pages in the original
Genres
Coming of age, Politics (assigned by AI)
Set in
Nigeria
First published
2015 by Cassava Republic Press
Author's age
33 when first published
ISBN

9789789506644 (Cassava Republic Press, Nigeria)

9780802124821 (Black Cat, United States)

9781911115021 (Cassava Republic Press, United Kingdom)

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Wikidata