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Travelers (novel)

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2019 novel by Helon Habila

Travelers
AuthorHelon Habila
LanguageEnglish
GenreLiterary fiction
Set inGermany/Italy/UK/US
PublisherW. W. Norton & Company
Publication date18 June 2019
Publication placeNigeria
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages288
ISBN978-0-393-23959-1
Preceded byThe Chibok Girls 

Travelers is a 2019 novel by Nigerian author Helon Habila. It was published by W. W. Norton & Company. The story revolves around the life of a Nigerian expatriate who travels around Europe to know more about African refugees.

Plot

Travelers is about a Nigerian graduate student living in the United States who relocates to Berlin with his wife Gina, who has won a prestigious arts fellowship. In Berlin, he meets the community of African refugees and encounters with his identity and the privilege of being able to travel freely. Due to racial problems, he divorces with his wife and decides to travel around Europe in order to meet with more African refugees.

Characters

  • Gina – the narrator's wife
  • Mark – a Malawian transgender student who is the narrator's friend
  • Manu – a Libyan surgeon of Nigerian extraction who the narrator meets in Berlin
  • Portia – the daughter of a Zambian writer
  • Juma
  • Karim
  • Flaubert

Reception and award

Emad Mirmotahari of World Literature Today wrote that the novel "refuses nostalgia for the cultural energies of African decolonization and the restorative promise of pan-Africanism". Washington City Paper described it as a novel that "does not deal in stereotypes". Otosirieze Obi-Young of Brittle Paper commented that it "appears to be aiming for a kind of completeness". Edward Docx writing for The Guardian felt that it was "replete with literary references that twist and gleam through the narrative, adding light and riches and setting off unexpected resonances". It was shortlisted for the 2019 Grand Prix of Literary Associations. and was also shortlisted for the 2020 James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

References

  1. Habila, Helon (18 June 2019). "Travelers". W. W. Norton. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  2. "Fiction Book Review: Travelers by Helon Habila. Norton, $25.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-393-23959-1". Publishers Weekly. 10 April 2019.
  3. ^ Docx, Edward (21 June 2019). "Travellers by Helon Habila review – bravura exploration of the refugee crisis". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  4. Habila, Helon (28 April 2019). "TRAVELERS | KIRKUS REVIEWS". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Media LLC. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  5. Habila, Helon (24 June 2019). "EXCERPT FROM TRAVELERS – Literary Hub". Literary Hub. GROVE ATLANTIC AND ELECTRIC LITERATURE. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  6. Mirmotahari, Emad (2020). "Travelers by Helon Habila". World Literature Today. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  7. Ottenberg, Eve (19 September 2019). "Helon Habila's Travelers Is a Profound Look at the Refugee Experience". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  8. Obi-Young, Otosirieze (8 May 2019). "Helon Habila's Fourth Novel, Travellers, Is a Roaming Exploration of the Lives of African Immigrants in Three European Countries". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  9. Online, Bamenda (8 May 2020). "GPLA 2019: Seven Nominees for the Seventh Edition". Bamenda Online.
  10. Ibeh, Chukwuebuka (25 June 2020). "Helon Habila's Travelers Shortlisted for the 2020 James Tait Black Memorial Prize". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  11. Murua, James (28 June 2020). "Helon Habila, Saidiya Hartman on James Tait Black Memorial Prize 2020 shortlists". Writing Africa. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
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