Kyuka Lilymjok is a Nigerian writer of over thirty novels, novellas, plays and law books. He has written on topics varying from life in traditional African society, politics, morality, sci-fi, humour and religion. His works mainly messages and dialogue driven are novelty books for adults and youngsters alike. These works have a distinguished air of novelty served by the author’s exceptional wits, candor, law background and a rare gift of story-telling. By dialogue, the author detaches himself from his story and allows his characters to tell their story. This establishes his stories firmly as stories and not some sociological writing. With prose rich and colorful, infused with powerful experiences, this exceptional author coaxes the reader to accompany him on an entertaining yet thought-provoking imaginative journey. Lilymjok’s books are a portal to a realm fantasy and philosophy converge, leaving a trail of contemplative ideas for his young and matured readers to explore. Perhaps more importantly, the author has an authentic voice of his own that cannot be traced to anyone’s voice before him. It is authentically and intrinsically his own voice driven by his own story-telling genius. His literary brew is from no one’s cellar and no one’s echo or reincarnation. Paying to many, he draws from no one.
The Death of Eternity
In his book, The Death of Eternity, Kyuka Lilymjok’s powerful narrative genius brings you closer to the frightening reality of existence in the so-called modern world. Partly set in Hungary and Cockde a fictional West African nation, The Death of Eternity is the story of Tibor a Hungarian eco-activist who travels to Africa to undertake a dangerous mission of environmental protection in a corrupt, environmentally predatory state. Constantly stalked by the long shadow of corruption and death, Tibor presses on his mission in Cockde, the fictional African state he left Hungary for. Frustrated by the ignorance and poverty of the people in his bid to protect the environment, by corruption and the predatory avarice of industry, Tibor thinks his only chance to save himself and the environment is to resort to violence. Things change fast and every step Tibor takes from this time on brings him closer to disillusionment with man and his unfortunate preoccupation and tendencies.
The Mad Professor of Zwigwi
The Mad Professor of Zwigwi is a character-driven story of a plant ecologist whose fame came from his precocious and ferocious intellect that pitches him to bizarre behaviour and bohemian appearance. His weird and quirky manners of talking to plants and animals and perpetual tangled hair make people say he is mad. In this work, Kyuka Lilymjok challenges the sanctity of conformity and normalcy through an eccentric character that would not and does not assimilate with society, that would not bend his knee to custom and tradition. Shunned and ridiculed by many, Philjez the so-called mad professor remains true to himself.
The Butcher’s Wife
In this novel, Kyuka Lilymjok’s distinct and perky storytelling genius brings you closer to viewing the world from a unique perspective. This extraordinary novel paints a picture dissimilar to any other Nigerian author’s style. Pride, greed, perfidy drive characters in The Butcher’s Wife to shame and ultimate ruin. Fueling and driving the ‘madness’ in the novel is a woman’s wrath over a quarrel she refuses to let go. The author masterfully constructs a tale of deception, anguish and death that undermines a community’s time-honoured values and enthrones anomie.
My Headmaster
Kyuka Lilymjok in this novel uses the towering father-figure image of Bamai the headmaster of Sarai primary school to portray the innocence of childhood and how discipline dish out by adults and authority helps to create an enduring society. My Headmaster crafts a brilliant and nostalgic story that yearns for the childhood and lost innocence of bygone times. The story reaches into the past to reclaim the good old days of innocence in pupils of primary schools and proper deployment of discipline by school authorities to ensure proper conduct by pupils. The author in this work creates scenic allegories in the minds of his readers who are transported to a past land of green pastures and starry nights where discipline and innocence define society.
Bivan’s House
In this work of Kyuka Lilymjok, the virtuous and the crook come face to face in an epic battle of wits and subterfuge in a so-called game of survival. The West African nation of Bivan’s House is the playground for corrupt dealings that threaten to ruin society. At the heart of the story is Talgon the protagonist of the tale who adamantly refuses to be taken over by frauds and scams walking the land like apes. Bivan’s house goes up in flames as a result of failure of intelligence which perhaps is the driving force of corruption in the land. Because of the author’s deft and exceptional handling of the theme of corruption in this novel, Bivan’s house can easily end up a global metaphor for corrupt nations.
Kyuka Lilymjok in his realistic fiction books dwells on commonplace themes of morality, justice, corruption, violence and death in an uncommon manner. In his writing, he uses familiar words in an unfamiliar manner. His themes may be commonplace, but the ideas that sound through these themes are not commonplace. His words are common words used in an uncommon manner. These words serve situations people are not used seeing them serve. Locating himself at the margin of words and not at their core, this writer well-grounded in the cadence use of language never fails to take in his readers and hold them to his books till an often shocking end.
In Kyuka’s works, every story distinguishes itself from others not only on subject matter but in the thought-provoking way the story is told. Often the story is told with such verve and passion that forces the reader to contemplate the realities he encounters in the human traffic and the prospects such encounters hold for him and the world at large. The works of this author make the reader to constantly ponder over human dilemmas and the eternal struggle between good and evil. With a rich dose of satire, often this author using humour lessens the pain from his razor-sharp communication of sordid realities. He bites and soothes at the same time. He draws blood with his incisive communication of reality but returns some of the blood by humor. Tears and smiles are always close to anyone reading his works. Check out the Kyuka books at Amazon.com.
