The Hangman's Game

When a young Guyanese woman sets out to write a historical novel based on the Demerara Slave Rebellion of 1823, she is beset by questions about her own African roots. To free her writer's block, she travels to Nigeria to experience her origins first-hand, and she soon finds herself brutally plunged into a world where the distinctions between her life and her fiction are blurred. Rich in tension, dark humor, and striking characters, this densely layered work offers an unparalleled look into the complex history of past and present Guyana, as well as the nature of postcolonial power in both Africa and the Caribbean.

Karen King-Aribisala was born in Guyana and now lives and works in Nigeria as an associate professor of English. She is the recipient of a number of awards, including the Best First Book Prize in the Commonwealth Prize (African Region), two James Mitchner Fellowships for creative writing at the University of Miami, a Ford Foundation Grant, and a British Council grant.