Better Never Than Late

Religious fervour culminates in an exorcism for one unfortunate maid. A harrowing encounter on a train haunts Añuli. A mother abandons her child in search of personal freedom. A wife joins her husband, only to be met with news that threatens their relationship. This richly imagined collage of interconnected stories follows Prosperous and Agu, and the motley community of Nigerian expats who gather at their apartment each week. Their reality is one of dashed hopes, twisted love and the pain of homesickness, even as they fight to make their way in this new world. Better Never Than Late is a layered and affecting portrayal of the everyday absurdities and adversities of migrant life.

Chika Unigwe is a Nigerian writer and the author of four novels, including the acclaimed On Black Sisters' Street (Jonathan Cape, 2009), winner of the $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature (2012). In 2014 Unigwe was selected as one of the Africa39 list. She is the recipient of a number of fellowships, including the 2014 Sylt Fellowship for African Writers. In 2016, Unigwe was appointed as the Bonderman Professor for Creative Writing at Brown University in Rhode Island and was a judge for the Man Booker International Prize in 2017. She currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.