Sarah Ladipo Manyika’s sophomore novel for April 1

Sarah Ladipo Manyika has announced on her website that her second novel, Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream To The Sun will be making is entry to the market on April 1^st, 2016.

Manyika who was born and raised in Nigeria and has also lived in Kenya, France, and England stormed into the African literary consciousness in 2008 with her debut novel In Dependence which got some very decent reviews.

Since then she has been in the literary business being a judge on the Etisalat Prize for Literature; she was the chair of the team that decided the best debut novel for 2014 was by South African Songeziwe Mahlangu for his novel Penumbra. She also did a pretty cool author series with US Ozy magazine last year.

The new novel comes with a lot of praise from some of the more well-known names in the business today. Here are her endorsements;

In this gorgeous and finely crafted book, Sarah Manyika takes a sideways look at the lives of other people, lives that usually pass us and each other by, that when they touch may do so with no more than a glancing blow, but may also connect, as they do in Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun, tenderly, simply and sweetly. Sarah Manyika’s novel shows ordinary people at their best. Uplifting!
Aminatta Forna

If aging be a lamp, then Morayo, the protagonist in Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun, is a mesmerizing glow. Astute, sensual, funny, and moving.
NoViolet Bulawayo 

Manyika’s story about an elderly Nigerian woman is quiet, sophisticated and it expands the canon of contemporary African literature into welcome new territory.
Bernardine Evaristo

This unforgettable novel narrated through an amazing polyphony of voices is a powerful meditation on loss, memory, exile and loneliness. The characters in this novel will stay with you.
E.C. Osondu

[S.L. Manyika] writes with great verve and gentle wit, illuminating her characters with subtle insight.
Jamal Mahjoub

A wonderfully constructed novel, always surprising and wrong-footing the reader at every turn and challenging one’s assumptions about the Other. Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun is a delightful multi-helical reading experience that speaks to our times in insightful and pleasantly understated ways.
Brian Chikwava

So there you have it lads and lasses, the book is coming on April 1^st. When you see the hype on the day it will be useful to know that it’s not an April Fools Stunt but a bonafide offering.