Jagua Nana | Fiction - www.zzdbook.com

Jagua Nana

Dec 22, 2025 9:45 AM

Author:Cyprian Ekwensi,Luyanda Lewis-Nyawo

Jagua Nana

Brought to you by Penguin.

Bold, moving, entertaining and controversial, this is the great novel of 1960s Lagos life - with one of the most unforgettable heroines in literature.

Jagua Nana, no longer young but still irresistible, lives a life of hedonism in Lagos: men, parties, fights, wild nights in the Tropicana with her handsome young boyfriend Freddie. Rushing from one experience to the next in search of something she can't quite grasp, Jagua finds herself embroiled in shady politics, caught up in village feuds and the source of drama wherever she goes. In this vivid depiction of 1960s Nigeria, everyone is hustling and everyone is on the make - and a woman like Jagua must find her own unconventional path to fulfilment.

Reviews

A joy to read; his glorious imagination captured ours ... Jagua Nana is my favourite of his novels

—— Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie , Guardian

A magnificent novel... a brilliant book which will repay many readings

—— The Times

She is the best historical novelist of her generation. She evokes the past with sensuality, wit and superb sleights of hand... The plot is ingenious...an unforgettable tapestry of Eros and of art

—— A. N. Wilson

Tremain's achievement in Music & Silence is extraordinary ... A narrative as funny as it is compelling

—— Daily Telegraph

Tremain weaves her web of stories with great visual flair and emotional acuity: This is a fabulous cacophony of passion and despair

—— Metro

Intricate and sparkling ... Ingenious, amusing and beautifully written

—— Observer

A superb novel... a wonderful, joyously noisy book

—— Guardian

The plot is ingenious... an unforgettable tapestry of Eros and of art

—— Evening Standard

Lyrical, voluptuous... splendid... A sumptuous drama lit by the glamorous torchlight of the courtly past

—— Sunday Times

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