Many reasons will make a reader want to read Seun Salami’s latest book, The Sex Life of a Lagos Mad Woman. The title is particularly enticing; the style of writing, storytelling, and his advocacy for the mentally-challenged who once had a past are other compelling points. Written by a young Nigerian writer, the story is captivating, and intriguing. The book which has generated reviews and reading sessions across the country is a collection of short fiction written over a period of time.
Six of the stories have been published online, but others are fresh stories. “The main subject of the story is a mad woman that l observed over a period of time and l noticed that she was pregnant and l started wondering how a mad woman could get pregnant? What would have led to that encounter?
I began to think about that and that gave birth to the story,” Salami said. The author advocates for welfare, protection, for every insane person in the society there was a past. “And we see these every day, some of them have the baby, and they are protective of the babies,” he notes. The author who has two other books, The Young Shall Grow, and The Son of Your Father’s Concubine said he did not imagine the rave reviews and the acceptance would come so early. “To be honest, l am very surprised by the acceptance the book is getting,” he said.
“I think the title is a bit attractive. That first point of contact is okay.” The book was published in Nigeria by Bookvine, but printed in India. “It is a quest for excellence and making it better. The last book l wrote was printed in Nigeria and we saw the difference; the response and acceptance.
We decided to take to a step further and do an excellent book.” The author who holds MSc in mass communication from the University of Lagos said: “This is my second collection of stories. l am not a new writer, but the acceptance of this book is nothing compared to the first one l wrote. l have also grown as a writer from when l wrote the first book,” he added. According to Moyo Larmie, copy editor at Bookvine and project manager for the release, the book is “completely different proposition from The Son of Your Father’s Concubine, his first work.”
Culled from-New Telegraph Newspaper Online