Yorùbá Boy Running charts Samuel Ajayi Crowther's miraculous journey from slave to liberator, boy to man, running to resisting

'Run, Àjàyí, run!'

The day the Malian slave traders invaded the Nigerian town of Òsogùn, thirteen-year-old Àjàyí's life was split in two.

Before, there was his childhood, surrounded by friends and family, watched over by the ancient Yorùbá gods of forest and water, earth and sky. After: capture, slavery - and release, into the service of a new god, his own culture left far behind. So Àjàyí becomes Samuel Crowther - missionary, linguist, minister - and abolitionist: driven to negotiate against his own people to end the miserable trade in human beings which destroyed his family.

From the heart-stopping drama of Àjàyí's last day of freedom to his consecration as the first African Bishop of the Anglican Church, Biyi Bándélé's kaleidoscopic reimagining of Crowther's life is a brilliant tour de force.

About the Author:

Biyi Bándélé was a novelist, playwright and filmmaker. He was the author of the novels, The Man Who Came in From the Back of Beyond, The Street, The Sympathetic Undertaker, Burma Boy and Yoruba Boy Running. His directorial debut was with Half of a Yellow Sun, based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Biyi Bandele passed away in 2022.

What Our Reviewers Said:

"This is one of the most original stories I have read. They plot, the style, the deft weaving of Ajayi’s writings and the re-imagining of the events that took place is a heady mix and has created something special."

"I found myself hooked by this text for its rhythmic, unique writing style, big-picture/small-picture storytelling and how much I rooted for our, very real, protagonist! I have never enjoyed historical fiction before which just proves how well this book worked to tell its very human tale. A sharp, clever, moving tale of hardship and suffering in a genre and culture I had no prior knowledge or familiarity with."

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