A Bit of Difference

By Sefi Atta

Single life in modern-day Nigeria is far from simple, in this new novel from the winner of the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa.

Deola Bello is tired of London, but she’s not ready to give up on life. When her charity job takes her home to Nigeria, her thoughts turn to the future, as she questions whether her peripatetic existence is still right for her.

Deola encounters changes in her family and her home, while a new friendship with Wale, a charming hotelier, offers more lasting potential. But is Deola really equipped to cope with the altered social mores that are part of modern Nigeria?

Sefi Atta’s urgent, incisive voice guides us through this intricate and vivid narrative, challenging preconceived notions of Africa and bringing to life contemporary Nigeria. With boldness and refreshing honesty, A Bit of Difference looks at the complexities of our globalised world, through a very human lens.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Jan 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9780007536092

Sefi Atta

Sefi Atta is the author of two previous novels, Swallow and Everything Good Will Come, and a collection of short stories, News from Home. She has been awarded the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa and the NOMA Award for Publishing in Africa. Her novels have been published around the world and translated into numerous languages, and her radio and stage plays have been performed internationally. She was born in Lagos and now lives in the United States.

Reviews for A Bit of Difference

[jnwelch_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A Bit of a Difference by Sefi Atta, was good, but I have to admit, I was hoping for great. She's won prizes, and this new book has garnered good reviews in PW and The New Yorker. It is solidly written and has many appealing points, but in the end it is too low key and emotionally repressed to be more than good.The main character, Deola Bellow, is Nigerian by birth. She has been schooled in London and now works at an international charity there as a financial specialist. Her background leaves her well-situated to see through the many racial, class, tribal, economic and other prejudices ("She will never understand Nigerian attitudes toward gays") she encounters. This is the aspect of the book I liked the most - she is clear-eyed and sees not only the subtle white do-gooder racisms, but the many prejudices of others, including her hometown family in Lagos.A white businessman is allowed ahead of her in an airport line. A white charity co-worker refers to all Nigerians in Perot-like fashion as "these people". But it's not confined to white people. "Nigerians are as prejudiced as the English, and more snobbish. Nigerians, given any excuse, are ready to snub. Without provocation and even remorse. They snub one another, snub other Africans, other blacks, and other races. Nigerians would snub aliens if they encountered them." Deola nonetheless immediately feels more at home when she returns to Lagos. "Here, she is virtually color-free and she hopes to remain that way."Prejudices still creep in. In approaching one Lagos businesswoman on behalf of her organization, she is asked, "Are you Yoruba or Hausa?" Her "I hope we can be united" response only makes the tension worse. Those of mixed parentage with a foreign parent (usually English) constitute yet another "tribe": "It doesn't matter where your mother or father is from, so long as one of them is oyinbo {a foreign white person}". "Nigerians constantly rank each other according to wealth, education and Westernization", and having an oyinbo parent can be an advantage - but if the non-oyinbo parent dies first, the oyinbo may be treated with little or no respect by the larger family.The problem in terms of narrative drive is all of Deola's perceptiveness has left her paralyzed, in emotional stasis. "She wishes she had been more adventurous. For her there will be no chance meetings in bars or sex with strangers. Within the social network to which she belongs, love is so contained, so predictable, and marriage might be as banal and unsatisfying as her career." She does take a romantic interest in a straightforward, non-manipulative Nigerian widower she meets through her work, and developments indicate she may find her way out of the emotional prison she has built.The book is strong and nuanced about our varieties of prejudice. It also provides a realistic depiction of a Nigerian woman's life in London and even more so her life upon return to Lagos. Lots of drama and tension certainly aren't a requirement for a great book. This keen depiction of the stifled life of Deola left me glad I had read this good book, but that same low key quality prevented the book from elevating into something revelatory and life-stirring.