''The Fishermen'' is the

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

by Nigerian author

Chigozie Obioma Chigozie Obioma (1986) was born in Akure, Nigeria. He is the author of three novels The ''Fishermen'' (2015), An ''Orchestra of Minorities'' (2019) and ''The Road to the Country'' (2024). The Fishermen and An Orchestra of Minorities were final ...

, published in 2015. The novel follows four brothers in a quiet neighbourhood of a Nigerian town, who are given a violent prophecy which shakes their family to the core. It is set in the 1990s, during the rule of

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

. It was shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize. The novel received a number of accolades, and positive reviews from critics.

Plot

Four brothers, Ikenna, Boja, Obembe, and Benjamin, begin to fish at the Omi-Ala river near their home in a quiet neighbourhood of the city of

Akure Akure is a city in south-western Nigeria. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Ondo State. The city had a population of 403,000 as of the 2006 population census. Its current population is estimated at 774,000.Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, despite being forbidden from doing so by their parents, as the river is heavily polluted. On one of their fishing trips, they encounter a local madman, Abulu, who follows them shouting the name of Ikenna, the oldest brother. The other children flee, but the four brothers stop to listen, as Abulu shouts a series of prophecies: that Ikenna will become blind, mute, crippled. He finishes by prophesying that Ikenna will be killed by a fisherman. Ikenna thinks this means that one of his brothers will kill him, and he gradually turns against them. The prophecy undoes the family and the expectations the brothers' parents have for them.

Development and writing

Obioma has seven brothers and four sisters, and wrote the novel as a tribute to his siblings. Two of Obioma's brothers fought violently when they were children, and Obioma was inspired by what he imagined was the worst possible outcome of those fights.

Reception and criticism

The novel has garnered comparisons to ''

Things Fall Apart ''Things Fall Apart'' is a 1958 novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is Achebe's debut novel and was written when he was working at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. The novel was first published in London by Heinemann (publisher), ...

'' in part due to the central role prophecy has in each novel. However, some critics disputed the validity of the comparisons. It also references the Biblical story of

Cain and Abel In the biblical Book of Genesis, Cain and Abel are the first two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain, the firstborn, was a farmer, and his brother Abel was a shepherd. The brothers made sacrifices, each from his own fields, to God. God had regard for Ab ...

, and has been referred to as a "retelling" of the story. Multiple critics referred to the novel as a ''

Bildungsroman In literary criticism, a bildungsroman () is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and change of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age). The term comes from the German words ('formation' or 'edu ...

'' given that it is told from the perspective of one brother, and charts his youth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisherman 2015 Nigerian novels 2015 debut novels Novels set in Nigeria Fictional fishermen Little, Brown and Company books