“CHRONICLES FROM THE LAND OF THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE ON EARTH”
By Wole Soyinka
Pantheon ($28)
“Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth “is many things. It’s a thrilling mystery, a commentary on the corruption that lurks behind power, and a literary tour de force.
Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka is in full trickster form — one can almost feel the Nobel laureate winking at the reader, razor-sharp tongue firmly planted in cheek.
At its core, “Chronicles” is a story about friendship. Specifically, the friendship of Duyole, Kighare, Badetona, and Farodion — four extraordinarily intelligent and capable men from an imaginary version of Nigeria. The four meet in their early 20s and form a pact to change their country, to become the face and “brand of the nation.”
Decades pass, and we find the “Gong o’ Four,” as they call themselves, in their late 50s and early 60s, living mostly apart and working with various levels of success and notoriety in a country dominated by a false populism. Popularity is everything in this version of Nigeria, self-designated land of “the Happiest People on Earth” and home to the Festival of the People’s Choice— and its top award, the People’s Award for the Common Touch, the ultimate symbol of national pride.
Yet something is not right in this Happiest place. Kighare, now a nationally honored surgeon, learns of a black-market operation that is selling body parts for spiritual rituals. Disgusted and outraged at his own hospital’s participation in the trade, he vows, along with UN-bound engineer Duyole, to solve the mystery. Who runs this operation? Is it national? International? How can something so extensive and shocking exist without most people’s knowledge? Can the Most Extraordinarily Corrupt Nation in the World really be the Happiest?
In Soyinka’s Nigeria, rumors and conspiracies only tell half the story. The truth, if any such thing exists, is slippery, mutable, inexact — obvious and hidden at the same time. The forces-that-be spin any negative story to their advantage, and the people at the top, Prime Minister included, play deadly games to maintain what matters most: power.
“Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth” is a great read. The prose is electric, dense, and mesmerizing. It asks a lot of the reader, in the best way possible.
Halfway through the text, I stopped and reread an earlier chapter, chuckling at how well Soyinka’s doublespeak revealed answers to mysteries that would emerge later in the story. “Chronicles” merits a second read, perhaps a third. Only then can the reader begin to unpack everything the novel contains.
The title of the book contains multitudes. Ten years ago, in a 53-country Gallup poll, Nigerians were rated highly for optimism, prompting a writer in the Guardian to declare it “The happiest place in the world!” Given its violence, corruption, and horrific poverty, one might not think this possible.
And yet, as a Mexican and Colombian, I completely understand. There is something to be said for surviving and thriving in a country with a low success index — a reason to dance, pray, and embrace one another in the face of insurmountable challenges. Personal relationships matter in the absence of a stable state — knowing the right person can be the difference between life and death.
For Kighare, friendship matters more than blood, more than country, more than any childhood pact. In Soyinka’s “Chronicles,” a good friend is everything, even in the Happiest Place on Earth.
Adriana E. Ramirez is an award-winning writer and poet living in Pittsburgh. She co-edited “In the Shadow of the Mic: Three Decades of Slam Poetry in Pittsburgh” released in 2020
First Published: December 5, 2021, 11:45 a.m.
