Light Seekers by  Femi Kayode

Light Seekers

Femi Kayode

This intelligent thriller is a story of long-calculated revenge which stirs up the deepest fears and unhealed wounds of the Biafran war. A forensic psychologist’s investigates the motivations behind the horrific killing of the Okriki Three. While this is clear in its scope, professional roles and personal safely are held hostage by the overriding desire for retribution - making for a tense and disturbing read.

Extract

'When they told us the war was over,' the old man continues, 'we waited to be sure the news was true before we left here. I stayed here until I saw my father limp home with one hand and a leg missing, and he confirmed the war was over. We all went back into the bush and brought out our women and children. And we took back our lands. When some of the Igbos came, we showed them the Land Redistribution Decree that the central government had given us in exchange for renouncing Biafra. The Igbos were not happy. We shouted. We fought. But we were also very tired. After all the killing, no one had the energy to fight longer than necessary. For the Igbos, life had become more important than land. For us, because the land had been taken from us before, there was no life without land.'

Parallels
  • Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  • The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
  • Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami