Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria

A "remarkable chronicle" of a journey back to this West African nation after years of exile (The New York Times Book Review).

Noo Saro-Wiwa was brought up in England, but every summer she was dragged back to visit her father in Nigeria--a country she viewed as an annoying parallel universe where she had to relinquish all her creature comforts and sense of individuality. After her father, activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, was killed there, she didn't return for several years. Then she decided to come to terms with the country her father given his life for.

Traveling from the exuberant chaos of Lagos to the calm beauty of the eastern mountains; from the eccentricity of a Nigerian dog show to the decrepit kitsch of the Transwonderland Amusement Park, she explores Nigerian Christianity, delves into the country's history of slavery, examines the corrupting effect of oil, and ponders the huge success of Nollywood.

She finds the country as exasperating as ever, and frequently despairs at the corruption and inefficiency she encounters. But she also discovers that it is far more beautiful and varied than she had ever imagined, with its captivating thick tropical rain forest and ancient palaces and monuments--and most engagingly and entertainingly, its unforgettable people.

"The author allows her love-hate relationship with Nigeria to flavor this thoughtful travel journal, lending it irony, wit and frankness." --Kirkus Reviews

Author: Noo Saro-Wiwa
Publisher: Soft Skull
Published: 08/21/2012
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781619020078


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 07/01/2012
Publishers Weekly 07/09/2012 pg. 55
Library Journal 08/01/2012 pg. 111
Booklist 09/15/2012 pg. 21
New York Times Book Review 12/02/2012 pg. 40

About the Author
Noo Saro-Wiwa was born in Nigeria in 1976 and raised in England. She attended King's College London and Columbia University in New York. She currently lives in London.