From two-time Caine Prize finalist Elnathan John, a dynamic young voice
from Nigeria, Born on a Tuesday is a stirring, starkly rendered first
novel about a young boy struggling to find his place in a society that
is fracturing along religious and political lines.
In far northwestern Nigeria, Dantala lives among a gang of street boys
who sleep under a kuka tree. During the election, the boys are paid by
the Small Party to cause trouble. When their attempt to burn down the
opposition's local headquarters ends in disaster, Dantala must run for
his life, leaving his best friend behind. He makes his way to a mosque
that provides him with food, shelter, and guidance. With his quick
aptitude and modest nature, Dantala becomes a favored apprentice to the
mosque's sheikh. Before long, he is faced with a terrible conflict of
loyalties, as one of the sheikh's closest advisors begins to raise his
own radical movement. When bloodshed erupts in the city around him,
Dantala must decide what kind of Muslim--and what kind of man--he wants
to be. Told in Dantala's naïve, searching voice, this astonishing debut
explores the ways in which young men are seduced by religious
fundamentalism and violence.
