The Road to the Country

A Novel

By: Chigozie Obioma

Narrated by: Junior Nyong'o

A sweeping, heart-racing, mystical novel about a university student in Lagos trying to save his brother, and himself, amid the chaos of Nigeria’s civil war—a story of love, friendship, and personal triumph by the two-time Booker Prize finalist and “the heir to Chinua Achebe” (New York Times)

“A wondrous novel.”—Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of Chain-Gang All Stars, finalist for the National Book Award

“Chigozie Obioma is that rare thing: an original. His world is a mix of the real and the folkloric, and his writing sounds like no one else’s.”—The Wall Street Journal

Longlisted for the New American Voices Award • Named a Best Book of the Year by The Economist and Kirkus Reviews

The first images of the vision are grainy—like something seen through wet glass. But slowly it clears, and there appears the figure of a man.

Set in Nigeria in the late 1960s, The Road to the Country is the epic story of a shy, bookish student haunted by long-held guilt who must go to war to free himself. When his younger brother disappears as the country explodes in civil war, Kunle must set out on an impossible rescue mission. Kunle’s search for his brother becomes a journey of atonement that will see him conscripted into the breakaway Biafran army and forced to fight a war he hardly understands, all while navigating the prophecies of a local Seer, he who marks Kunle as an abami eda—one who will die and return to life.

The story of a young man seeking redemption in a country on fire, Chigozie Obioma’s novel is an odyssey of brotherhood, love, and unimaginable courage set during one of the most devastating conflicts in the history of Africa. Intertwining myth and realism into a thrilling, inspired, and emotionally powerful novel, The Road to the Country is the masterpiece of Chigozie Obioma, a writer Salman Rushdie calls “a major voice” in literature.

©2024 Chigozie Obioma (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"With heartbreaking realism, Obioma captures the dizzying atmosphere of despair, determination, and chaos surrounding the Biafran soldiers. This live-wire war story is not to be missed.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“With confident empathy, Obioma remarkably imbues breathtaking beauty into the (quotidian) horrors of war. Beyond geographical and historical specificities here, the world’s harrowing, ongoing conflagrations underscore the timeless urgency of Obioma’s latest triumph.”—Booklist (starred review)

“Obioma has captured the essential elements of the war novel—the near-death experience, the tragic losses, the flickering moments of generosity and grace—but he inhabits them with a rare command, empathy, and intensity of feeling. . . . A top-tier war novel, inventive and cleareyed about the consequences of violence.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Sadness of Evil.

I like the book and I am disturbed by the evil that is being spread by the selfishness of mankind.
Evil is always present and maneuvered from the beginning of time.
Fallen angels are always at the core of wars.
This book represents how war is result of our separation from God.
It’s excellent and powerful message for all to read.

Thank you.

Punishingly revealing. I have asked the question for years now..."Why so much killing?". No one has answered.

Unique writing style.

This is a compelling, well written story. i recommend it. My only criticism: Readers already understand that wars bring death and destruction. Author could have cut back on some of the gorey details about the injured and the dead. The tragic consequences to the innocent on the other hand were unique and worthy of exposure and explanation. Good read.