Top 10 Books To Read in 2021

Losing yourself in a great novel is one of life’s simple pleasures. In this article, contributing writer Vivian Adeyemo reveals her top 10 books to read in 2021.

There is no doubt that books play an integral part in one’s life and serves a variety of functions. Whether for education or entertainment purposes, for inspiration, motivation or creativity; books are essential.

More and more people have turned to reading as a coping mechanism for the various lockdowns across many nations of the world.

The Reading Agency in the UK says a third of adults are reading more now than before lockdown. Furthermore, there was a spike in the number of young people (almost one in every two 18-24 year olds) taking up reading. Most of the books being read is fiction, according to the agency, with crime being the most popular.

I read a lot of books during lockdown, particularly from writers of West African descent. The following are my recommended top 10 books you should check out in 2021. It’s a mixture of new and some old favourites. Enjoy!

1. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

It tells the tale of two sisters with very different destinies. One sold into slavery, and the other a slave trader’s wife. The consequences of their fate reverberate through the generations that follow.

From the Gold Coast of Africa to the plantations of Mississippi; from the missionary schools of Ghana to the dive bars of Harlem.

This tale spans many continents and generations and reads like a history book of the transatlantic slave trade. An extremely powerful, intelligent and provocative read.

You won’t want to miss Yaa’s follow up novel, the Transcendent Kingdom. Which is due for release this year and has already garnered positive reviews in the literary world.

2. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

This dark, comic crime thriller, is the first offering from the gifted, award winning Nigerian writer. Oyinkan Braithwaite’s debut is an examination of sibling relationships in an oppressively patriarchal society, where women are the heroines. A page turner and an addictive read.

Amongst her many accolades, Oyinkan won the LA Times Award for Best Thriller 2019. She is also the winner of the British Book Awards Crime & Thriller Book of the Year 2020.

3. Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo

This heart wrenching novel centres around protagonist Yejide and her longing to have a child. It is all her husband and mother-in-law want, and she tries everything. However, when his relatives insist on another wife, it is too much for Yejide to bear.

Unraveling against the social and political turbulence of 1980s Nigeria, Stay With Me is a story of the fragility of married love, the undoing of family, the power of grief and the bonds of motherhood.

Ayobami’s powerful novel is a tale about the desperate attempts we make to save ourselves and those we love from heartbreak.

4. The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare

Adunni is the heroine in this story. At 14 years old, she finds herself the third wife in a small Nigerian village and expected to fade into silence.

But Adunni is not quiet. She’s smart, funny and curious, with an infectiously joyful spirit. Despite adversity awaiting her at every turn, she’s set on getting an education no matter the cost.

Determined not to settle for her fate, Adunni embarks on a journey from her village to the wealthy enclaves of Lagos.

This tale is moving and heart-warming, a story of hope and triumph over adversity.

5. Second Class Citizen by Buchi Emecheta

The leading character – Adah – is a woman from the Igbo tribe who moves to England to live with her Nigerian student husband. She soon discovers that life for a young Nigerian woman living in London in the 1960s is grim.

Adah is rejected by British Society and thwarted by her husband, who expects her to be subservient to him. She is forced to face up to life as a ‘second-class’ citizen.

This semi-autobiographical classic from the iconic Buchi Emecheta is highly recommended.

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6. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda’s quintessential third novel does not disappoint. This offering – which won the 2013 US National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction – tells the story of a young Nigerian woman, Ifemelu.

Ifemelu migrates to the United States to attend university. She and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria. In America, Ifemelu has to grapple with what it means to be black, despite her academic success. Meanwhile, Obinze plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London.

They reunite 15 years later in a newly democratic Nigeria. The two reignite their passion and face the hardest decision of their lives.

7. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

Anglo-Nigerian writer, Bernardine’s eighth novel Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives of 12 characters in the UK over the course of several decades.

The book is divided into four chapters, each containing episodes about three women who are connected to one another in some way.

This captivating and cleverly written novel, explores how race, sexuality, gender, history and intersectionality define the experiences of the women in the story.

Bernardine is the co-winner of the 2019 Booker Prize. She won Fiction Book of the Year at the 2020 British Book Awards, where she also won Author of the Year.

8. Ghana Must Go, by Taiye Selasi

If you are a fan of the great Chimamanda Adichie, then you are bound to appreciate this eloquent debut from talented Nigerian and Ghanaian writer, Taiye Selasi.

The novel follows the Sai family as they come to terms with their father Kweku’s death. As they work through family troubles, differing points of view give insight into the emotions of the characters’ emotions.

The death of Kweku Sai – a renowned surgeon in Ghana – unravels a series of events for his family. Although he has left them behind, his wife Fola and their four children— Olu, Kehinde, Taiwo, and Sadie—are left to deal with the repercussions of his choices and to resolve the conflicts he created.

9. The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Adichie

Another essential read from the pioneering Nigerian writer. The Thing Around Your Neck is a collection of short stories which was first published in 2009.

Adichie masterfully turns a penetrating eye on the ties that bind men and women, parents and children, Nigeria and the West; on love and dislocation, violence and faith and the moments of epiphany that illuminate the beauty and desperation of ordinary lives.

Each story is beautifully constructed and leaves you wanting more.

10. The Fisherman, by Chigozie Obioma

The Fisherman is the impressive debut by Chigozie Obioma, originally published in 2015.

The novel is set in 1990s Nigeria and follows four brothers in a quiet neighbourhood of a Nigerian town. They are given a violent prophecy which shakes their family to the core.

The book was shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize and has received many accolades and positive reviews from book critics.

It has also garnered comparisons to the iconic Things Fall Apart by the legendary Chinua Achebe. In a review by the New York Times, Chigozie was called “the heir to Chinua Achebe”.