Kicking Tongues

Carefully selected by their hostess – an enigmatic figure who calls herself, “The Black Lady The” – the passengers on this journey range from a wealthy tribal chief to a humble petrol pump attendant, from a rain-maker to a reserved woman observing purdah.

They are united only by their dissatisfaction with Nigeria’s chaotic and corrupt regime, a concern which is reflected in the widely differing stories they tell on their journey – bawdy tales, sharp satires, poignant narratives and moral fables.

Blending poetry and prose, rich visual images, and witty puns, Karen King-Aribisala succeeds in transforming a fourteenth-century English classic into an exuberant and distinctively African work.