Whenever an email titled ‘Press Release’ flashes on my smart phone, I often times skip the details till much later in the day. But this was different. A book making the list of the Africa Book Club drew my immediate curiosity.
Debut novel “Nothing Comes Close” written by Tolulope Popoola and published by Accomplish Press has been featured on a list of best books of 2012. The list was compiled by the editors and reviewers of the Africa Book Club.
Daniel Musiitwa, the managing editor, said “Our 2012 list includes the top picks from our team of reviewers, that is, books they read and recommended as deserving to be on the list. We also scoured the continent (and, of course, the Internet) to find books about Africa or by African authors that generated the most buzz, received literary awards, or made the bestseller lists.”
‘Nothing Comes Close’ was featured in the fiction category, alongside other exciting books such as: The Spider King’s Daughter (by Chibundu Onuzo), Daughters Who Walk This Path (by Yejide Kilanko), On Black Sisters Street (by Chika Unigwe) and No Time Like the Present (by Nadine Gordimer).
Author Tolulope Popoola
According to the reviewer, “Nothing Comes Close” makes for a refreshing read – certainly a departure from other African stories that mostly center on the continent’s instabilities.”
Here is an extract from another reviewer; “When drama stalks the man you love, it is important to evaluate what you want…him or a drama-less life. Beautiful, sassy and independent Lola had to make that decision about her relationship with handsome and mysterious Wole in Tolulope Popoola’s debut novel, Nothing Comes Close. For a romance novel, the twist and suspense embedded in the pages made it all the more delightful…A few scenes stood out as unusual. One of such scene was when Wole googled Maureen’s alleged killer. His comment about the ladies not looking at his image when they googled him earlier seem unbelievable and out of place. In addition to a few unusual scenes, I will edit down the text to get rid of repetition and descriptions that added little or nothing to the story. Popoola is definitely a blossoming and talented writer whose debut novel is a must read set up to produce a sequel. There is a lot to choose from, but I am excited that she is expanding Temmy’s story into a book. I am looking forward to more from Popoola.”
About the author- Tolulope Popoola was born in Lagos, Nigeria. She moved to England for her university education where she studied BA Accounting and Business Economics, and a Masters in Finance and Investment. She started blogging in 2006, which rekindled her love for writing and telling stories. In 2008, she left her Accounting job to concentrate on writing full-time. She writes short stories, flash fiction and articles for both print and online magazines. Nothing Comes Close is her first novel. Tolulope lives in London with her husband and daughter. She can be reached via her website: www.onwritingandlife.com
Leave a Reply