Water Baby
LONGLISTED FOR THE INAUGURAL CLIMATE FICTION PRIZE
She's the Pearl of Makoko and the world is her oyster.
In Makoko, the floating slum off mainland Lagos, Nigeria, nineteen-year-old Baby yearns for an existence where she can escape the future her father has planned for her.
With opportunities scarce, Baby jumps at the chance to join a newly launched drone-mapping project, aimed at broadening the visibility of the informal settlement and her community.
When a video of her at work goes viral, Baby finds herself with options she could never have imagined – including the possibility of leaving her birthplace to represent Makoko on the world stage.
But will life beyond the lagoon be everything she’s dreamed of? Or has everything she wants been in front of her all along?
Praise for Water Baby
"Okereke tackles many issues — technology, climate change, the clashes between old and new, rich and poor — in a book whose busy plot is becalmed by the lyrical magic of her prose."
-- The Daily Mail
"A brilliant evocative read. In Okereke's hands, Makoko is a world full of heart and beauty"
-- IRENOSEN OKOJIE, author of Nudibranch
"One of those rare books that takes you somewhere utterly unfamiliar and makes you feel instantly at home. A delight"
-- SIMON TOYNE, author of Sanctus
"A compelling and powerful novel"
-- CHERIE JONES, author of How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House
"A beautifully written novel, full of vibrant imagery and characters who leap off the page. This book serves as a reminder that often what we dream of is right in front of us."
-- LOUISE HARE, Miss Aldridge Regrets