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ABSTRACT
This article examines the complex role of the child or youth protagonist, who features so prominently in third-generation Nigerian fiction. Countering reductionist claims that demote these texts to juvenile fiction, it draws on African, Nigerian, and children's literary criticism to argue that the hybrid space of childhood enables writers to address themes that may, in fact, be too large for adult fiction, while also engaging culturally uninformed Western readers. Recent Nigerian Bildungsromane manifestly showcase the postcolonial subject's negotiation of sociocultural identity, a quest that is inextricably linked to substantial global concerns of the twenty-first century. Focusing on the language, perspective, and agency of the child-hero, this article investigates three texts-Adichie's Purple Hibiscus, Oyeyemi's The Icarus Girl, and Iweala's Beasts of No Nation-which reflect the prevailing trends in contemporary Nigerian writing: those criticizing neocolonial Nigeria; those problematizing the transnational space of diaspora, and those raising awareness about human rights violations stemming from globalization.
Igbo saying: Ora na-azu nwa.
Western translation: It takes a village to raise a child.
Since 2000, third-generation Nigerian writing has exploded in US and British publishing houses, kindled by the enthusiastic, award-wining1 reception of these Nigerian writers, who, educated or residing in the West, spark the interest of Western, english-speaking readers and engage them to consider Nigerian and global concerns. Particularly striking in the recent wave of Nigerian fiction is the figure of the child or the youth, which features prominently in most of these novels. The protagonists of most of these recent Nigerian texts-Chimamanda Ngozi adichie's Purple Hibiscus, Helen oyeyemi's The Icarus Girl, Chris abani's Graceland and Becoming Abigail, dulue Mbachu's War Games, or Uzodinma Iweala's Beasts of No Nation-are all children or adolescents. In Sefi Atta's Everything Good Will Come, diane evans's 26a, Unoma azuah's Sky-High Flames, or Helon Habila's Waiting for An Angel, the heroes are all young adults. as a result, these books, most frequently described as "coming-of-age" novels, are also often dismissed by reviewers as "children's novels" or "high school fiction" (Isaacs 69; Smith 200). Though some of these texts examine mature themes or complex global issues, they are nonetheless "recommended for young adult libraries," as in the case of Iweala's graphically visceral depiction of child soldiers (Stone 131). Similarly, Habila's novel about the sadistic...