It’s one thing to experience day-to-day life in Nigeria with the incessant traffic, covert classism, bustling nightlife, Detty December, IJGB wars, raves, X (formerly Twitter) bants, and a million other canonical Nigerian moments.
It’s another thing entirely to pick up a book written by a Nigerian and be blown away by how familiar yet profound those same experiences feel on the page, and then realise that people around the world are reading the same story and loving it just as much.
Below, we spotlight Nigerian-authored books that made the prestigious TIME Magazine “100 Must-Read Books of 2025” list.
1. Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite
In Lagos, when Ebun gives birth to her daughter, Eniiyi, on the very day her cousin, Monife, is buried, eyebrows are raised. Monife and the baby share a startling resemblance. and the family quietly starts to believe that Eniiyi is Monife’s reincarnation.
Add to this the family curse: “No man will call your house his home. And if they try, they will not have peace…” And you have three generations of Falodun women living under the same roof, shadowed by heartbreak, love gone wrong, and unanswered spiritual secrets.
When Eniiyi falls for the handsome boy she rescues from drowning, the old story begins to repeat. Will she surrender to it or break out once and for all?
Braithwaite mixes modern Lagos hustle with a touch of supernatural drama and dark humour. Her second novel is truly humorous, hard-won wisdom, and questions about familial obligation and whether one can truly escape an inherited fate.
2. Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
Zelu, a woman from Nigeria who suddenly loses her university job and has her novel rejected in the middle of her sister’s wedding, decides to throw everything into a new book. The book is a science fiction tale of androids and AI after humanity’s end. Lo and behold, the world of her fiction begins bleeding into her reality.
Okorafor shifts genres and expectations: part autobiographical takedown, part speculative future vision.
The worlds bend, and the lines blur in this book, and through it all, we get a powerful exploration of change, identity, and possibility.
If you’re normally wary of sci-fi, this one might just convert you, with one foot firmly in the African futurist tradition and the other in literary realism.
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3. Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola
Three years after a messy breakup, Kiki thinks she’s moved on. She has a podcast, “The Heartbeat”, dishing out relationship advice; she’s assisting with her best friend’s wedding; and she’s trying to keep her career from imploding.
Then Malakai, the ex-boyfriend, turns up as the best man at that same wedding. As expected, sparks fly between them, awkward glances are shared, and old chemistry is awakened.
As Kiki juggles her job, her family’s floundering restaurant, and her best friend’s bridezilla potential, Malakai becomes the last thing she expected or needed.
Babalola serves up rom-com energy with substance through banter, heat, and heart, but also questions what love really means, what second chances cost, and whether we ever truly leave our past behind.
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4. The Edge of Water by Olufunke Grace Bankole
Set between Ibadan (Nigeria) and New Orleans (USA), this novel threads together prophecy, mother-daughter bonds, faith, and fate. A Nigerian mother receives a divination that her daughter, going to America, will meet danger.
Despite it, the daughter Amina moves to New Orleans with her dreams in her suitcase until a hurricane upends everything.
Years later, her daughter, left with unanswered questions, tries to pick up the pieces back in Nigeria.
Bankole’s debut novel navigates tradition and free will, crossing continents and time, with a lyrical power that lingers. If you’re drawn to stories of diaspora, of home and away, of spiritual currents under modern lives, this one hits richly.
Other Honourable Book Mentions on TIME’s List
Of course, Nigeria wasn’t the only country shining bright this year. TIME Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2025 featured a stacked lineup of international heavyweights, from sweeping romances to speculative adventures.
Here are a few that also caught readers’ attention:
1. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo swaps Hollywood glamour for NASA’s space shuttle programme in the 1980s. Atmosphere follows Joan Goodwin, a physics professor who joins NASA’s first group of women astronauts. It’s a story about ambition, friendship, and love among the stars. Reid once again proves she knows how to make history feel intimate and thrilling.
2. All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert
Two decades after Eat Pray Love, Gilbert returns with a deeply personal and emotional story about addiction, grief, and the messy, healing power of love. Drawing inspiration from her real-life friendship and romance with musician Rayya Elias, the book feels raw, compassionate, and human.
3. The Antidote by Karen Russell
Russell’s latest novel whisks readers to 1930s Nebraska, where a “prairie witch,” a cursed family, and a sentient scarecrow all confront a dying town’s dark secrets. It’s part historical fiction, part magical realism, and all Russell. It’s eerie, imaginative, and unafraid to tackle climate anxiety and collective memory.
4. Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
After Babel and Yellowface, Kuang takes readers straight into hell in Katabasis. Two rival graduate students must descend into the underworld to rescue their professor’s soul after a magical experiment goes wrong. Expect academic rivalries, mythical monsters, and Kuang’s signature mix of sharp intellect and emotional chaos.
