Author Visit: Afabwaje Kurian, Before the Mango Ripens (2024)

In conversation with Anna Katsavos, Afabwaje Kurian discusses her debut novel, Before the Mango Ripens (2024). Longlisted for the Aspen Prize, Kurian’s work paints a nuanced portrait of life in a small Nigerian town in the aftermath of the Biafran War. This historical fiction set in the 1970s illustrates the hypocrisy and tensions between American Christian missionaries and the residents of Rabata as Nigeria teeters between post-colonial dependency and self-rule. Moving and bitingly humorous, the novel weaves together the characters' back stories and explores themes of faith, ambition, and betrayal in portraying a community at the precipice of change.