Sozaboy: Longman African Writers

Sozaboy describes the fortunes of a young naive recruit in the Nigerian Civil War: from the first proud days of recruitment to the disillusionment, confusion and horror that follows. The author's use of 'rotten English' - a mixture of Nigerian pidgin English, broken English and idiomatic English - makes this a unique and powerful novel.

‘This is both a novel of self-discovery and an indictment of a corrupt and muddled war – a kind of sombre picaresque lifted by the vivacity of its language’
Helen Birch, City Limits
 
William Boyd, who has written the introduction to Sozaboy, has described the author as ‘an extraordinary man and an extraordinary writer.’

'This is both a novel of self-discovery and an indictment of a corrupt and muddled war a kind of sombre picaresque lifted by the vivacity of its language' Helen Birch, City Limits William Boyd, who has written the introduction to Sozaboy, has described the author as 'an extraordinary man and an extraordinary writer.'

Ken Saro-Wiwa, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996, was a novelist, publisher, journalist and human rights activist. He was a committed and tireless campaigner on human rights and environmental issues. In November 1995 he was executed by the Nigerian authorities.