A Letter Away From Asaba: A Novella

Product Information

Chioma experiences the Asaba massacre, an overlooked and traumatic event of the war, and is forced to confront issues of censorship, grief, and trust. With her recently published historical fiction novel, A Letter Away From Asaba, The Edinburgh Tab had the pleasure of interviewing her about her book, inspiration, and writing process. Onome is an international student from Nigeria studying law at King’s College London whilst Chioma lives in Asaba, Nigeria.

The cover beautifully encapsulates the story of Onome and Chioma as they respectively navigate the streets of London and Asaba faced with intense censorship following the Asaba massacre. We spoke with Claudia about publishing, the history behind the story, and the importance of learning about colonialism and its ongoing effects. So thrilled to have had my official book launch celebrating the release of my debut novel ‘A Letter Away From Asaba’.You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. A Letter Away From Asaba , an epistolary novella, is a historical fictional narrative centred on the Asaba massacre of the Nigerian Civil War. When such horrifying events like wars and massacres occur, it is all too easy to become overwhelmed by the brutal deaths, and often the sheer number of them.

It is a book that I wrote during the course of my first year at Edinburgh and I am still quite shocked that it will be transformed into print next year.

The lectures on oral history in the infamous Historian’s Toolkit and varying topics in my first-year courses helped me develop the analytical skills that I used to carefully embed historical information within an engaging fictional narrative. Efemini does not refrain from straightforward and unapologetic honesty, transporting the reader with the courageous voices of Chioma and Onome.

International Women’s Day also gives us an opportunity to recognise the inner and outer work we all need to do to achieve gender equality for all women, regardless of where they come from. A descendant of colonist who belittle our continent and undermine our experiences to doge responsibility for their despicable actions. In A Letter Away From Asaba, Efemini makes it known that history does not remain a thing of the past. My book is a historical fiction novella that seeks to inform readers about the censorship of the tragic Asaba massacre of the Nigerian civil war.I came across a book entitled The Asaba Massacre: Trauma, Memory, and the Nigerian Civil War by historians Elizabeth S.