Ben Okri
Born: 01-01-1959
Ben Okri is a Nigerian-born author and poet renowned for his exploration of magical realism and post-colonial themes. His acclaimed novel "The Famished Road" won the Booker Prize in 1991, elevating him to international prominence. Okri's work often weaves African folklore with contemporary issues, reflecting on the human condition. Besides fiction, he has published essays and poetry, further solidifying his reputation as a versatile and thought-provoking writer.
Book summaries for books written by Ben Okri
Quotes
In the beginning there was a river. The river became a road and the road branched out to the whole world. And because the road was once a river it was always hungry.
To be alive is to be disjointed and half orphaned.
I do not see myself as a coward. I am too weak to be one.
What is now proved was once only imagined.
A loneliness came upon me, but I was not lonely. There is a distinction.
What one person says is a different thing from what another person hears.
Every misfortune is an opportunity to be seized.
Jealousy and hatred are like twin children eating you from inside.
Some things are too big to be seen; they loom like giants. Things too distant to be heard; they thunder lesser beings to death.
The things people believe shine out in signs that reveal everything about them.
Hope is the pretender to the throne of the heart, until it is captured by a true belief.
The truth is that most of us live in prisons, even if they are comfortable, well-lit prisons.