measuring_time_habila
2009 Nominated

Measuring Time

artwork-image

ABOUT
THE BOOK

In the small Nigerian village of Keti live Mamo and LaMamo, twin sons of a domineering father. When one day the boys try and escape the village, only LaMamo succeeds – and in time becomes a soldier well-versed in the ways of life and death.
Mamo, too sickly to leave, remains in Keti finding solace in the arms of Zara while watching impotently as his detested father grows powerful and corrupt. Unable to wield a weapon, Mamo instead reaches for a pen and soon begins to write the true history of Keti and its people – all the time awaiting the return of his beloved brother, LaMamo…

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Helon
Habila

Helon Habila is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at George Mason University, USA. He worked in Lagos as a journalist before moving to England in 2002. His novels include, Waiting for an Angel (2002), Measuring Time (2007), and Oil on Water (2010). In 2006 he co-edited the British Council’s anthology, New Writing 14. He also edited the Granta Book of the African Short Story (2011). Habila’s novels, poems and short stories have won many honours and awards, Including the Commonwealth Prize for Best First Novel (Africa Section), the Caine Prize, and the Windham-Campbell Prize. Habila has been a contributing editor for the Virginia Quarterly Review since 2004, and he is a regular reviewer for the Guardian, UK. His new book, The Chibok Girls, a nonfiction work about the Boko Haram kidnapping of 219 schoolgirls in Nigeria, will be out in November, 2016. Helon Habila lives in Virginia, USA, with his wife and three children.

Helon Habila is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at George Mason University, USA. He worked in Lagos as a journalist before moving to England in 2002. His novels include, Waiting for an Angel (2002), Measuring Time (2007), and Oil on Water (2010). In 2006 he co-edited the British Council’s anthology, New Writing 14. He also edited the Granta Book of the African Short Story (2011). Habila’s novels, poems and short stories have won many honours and awards, Including the Commonwealth Prize for Best First Novel (Africa Section), the Caine Prize, and the Windham-Campbell Prize. Habila has been a contributing editor for the Virginia Quarterly Review since 2004, and he is a regular reviewer for the Guardian, UK. His new book, The Chibok Girls, a nonfiction work about the Boko Haram kidnapping of 219 schoolgirls in Nigeria, will be out in November, 2016. Helon Habila lives in Virginia, USA, with his wife and three children.

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NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS

Habila is an exceptional voice in African literature. His epic novel reaching from rural village life to African politics possesses a universal appeal.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Country
Nigeria
Original Language
English
Author
Publisher
Hamish Hamilton Ltd.

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