Yoruba Boy Running

by Biyi Bandele

“A true artist. A brilliant writer. An original thinker.”—Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A captivating, fictionalized retelling of African linguist and clergyman Samuel Ajayi Crowther's miraculous journey from slave to liberator.

“Run, Àjàyí, run!”

When Malian slave traders invaded the Nigerian town of Òsogùn, thirteen-year-old Àjàyí's life is split in two.

Before, there was his childhood, surrounded by friends and family, watched over by the ancient Yorùbá gods of forest and water, earth and sky.

After, there was capture, slavery—and eventually release—with Àjàyí, left transfigured, unrecognizable, and now, inthe service of a new god, with a new name and a culture different from the one left far behind. Àjàyí becomes Samuel Crowther—missionary, linguist, minister, and eventually abolitionist, driven to negotiate against his own people to end the evil trade in human beings which destroyed his family and transformed his own life.

Drawing on the prolific writings of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, novelist and filmmaker Biyi Bándélé creates a many-voiced, kaleidoscopic portrait of an extraordinary man. From the heart-stopping drama of Àjàyí's last day of freedom to the farcical intrigue of the Òsogùn court; from a meeting with Queen Victoria to consecration as the first African Bishop of the Anglican Church, Samuel Ajayi Crowther’s journey, like all great odysseys, circles back to where he began. By turns witty, moving and revolutionary, Biyi Bándélé's reimagining of Crowther's life is a brilliant tour de force.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Africa, African Literature, Audiobook, Nigeria, 19th Century

288 pages, Hardcover

Published September 3, 2024

Reviews

[lami ☆ [eyes on palestine]]

𖥻 ׁ── ꩜｡pre-read🪴⋆˚.
this might make me cry so bad. i'm ready to accept that.

[Gigi Ropp · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review is very much based on my enjoyment of the book and not of the author’s life. Unless you are interested in Nigerian history or the politics of that region, this was not a terribly interesting read.

[Maven_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yorùbá Boy Running by Biyi Bándélé

Yorùbá Boy Running is a vividly imagined historical novel inspired by the life of Samuel Àjàyí Crowther, a real 19th century Yoruba boy whose world is shattered when Malian slave traders invade his village, Òsogùn, and tear him from his family at thirteen. After being sold into slavery and then freed by the British navy, Àjàyí is taken to Sierra Leone, educated, and eventually becomes Samuel Crowther: missionary, linguist, translator, abolitionist, and the first African bishop in the Anglican Church. Through shifting perspectives and moments from his extraordinary life, Bándélé brings to life Crowther’s resilience, spiritual awakening, and complex navigation between cultures and identities.

Bándélé’s prose made me feel both the gravity of historical injustice and the fierce determination of a young man reshaping his destiny. The blend of mythic Yoruba childhood memories, witty courtly scenes, and Crowther’s encounters with figures like Queen Victoria gave the story stunning emotional range. Although the nonlinear style sometimes asked me to pause and regroup, the humanity at the center held me fast. This is a testament to survival and a rich tribute to a remarkable life.

Rating: 4 out of 5, for its powerful storytelling and profound emotional impact.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to rate because this was published posthumously. God rest the author’s soul.

[Phyllis | Mocha Drop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Admittedly, I knew nothing of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, a formerly enslaved as a teen first by the Fulani, then by the Portuguese. The British Navy intercepted his slave ship, and he was subsequentially “freed” and settled in Freetown, Sierra Leone. His exceptional intelligence was recognized early, and he excelled to become the first Black man to become an Anglican Bishop and earn a degree from Oxford.

Bandele’s novel chronicles Crowther’s life as a man in that era and doesn’t wax poetic about the famous firsts and barriers he broke. He includes the ugly politics of the day, the horrors of the slave trade, the ills of colonization – the immeasurable losses of life, resources, culture, etc. and glimpses the effects on the individual and the irreparable damage caused by it.

I was remiss in the details and didn’t realize this was a post-houmous release in which the manuscript was published with permission from the author’s estate. I suppose they left it mostly ‘as-is’ because parts are quite choppy, a bit wordy, and stilted. I found myself skimming through sections just to get through it.

However, this offering chronicles Crowther’s life, loves, challenges, and accomplishments with much respect and admiration.

[Bo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yorùbá Boy Running explores the life of Samuel Ajayi Crowther born in c1809 in a Yorùbá kingdom in what is now southwest Nigeria. Àjàyí was snatched and enslaved by Muslim raiders from further north in 1821; his journey, like all great odysseys, circles back to where he began.

A truly captivating retelling of Ajayi Crowthers miracoulsy journey from slave to liberator. Moving, witty , with a subtle political side.

At the time of his death, Biyi Bandele had been working on this novel ‘Yorùbá Boy Running’ , which had been due to be published in 2023, and was subsequently rescheduled for July 2024.

[Ade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yoruba Boy Running is the story of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the first African Anglican Bishop of West Africa.

In this book with a powerful introduction by renowned Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, the author traces Ajayi’s childhood, his journey into slavery and how he rose through the ranks to become the pioneer and abolitionist that we celebrate today.

History, tradition and culture take a lot of stage in this ‘expose’ of the raid, rape and devastation of Africa.

The take home message here is that one can rise above adversity and can challenge statuesque.

[D]

Unfortunately didn’t enjoy this one.
Half of the book didn’t have to do with Ajayi’s life nor further the plot. And the parts that did, outside of the first two chapters, were extremely rushed and just felt like a summary report of Ajayi’s life. The female characters were one dimensional. Dnf @ 75% :(

[Tim Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

loved the begining. but it seemed to lose focus and lose the magic.

[Patty Aryee · Rating 4 out of 5]

🗣💬: " 'Run, Àjàyí, run!'"

👩🏾‍🏫 𝔾𝔼ℕℝ𝔼: Historical Fiction / Literary Fiction

📄 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼 ℂ𝕆𝕌ℕ𝕋: 288

🎡 𝕋ℍ𝔼𝕄𝔼𝕊: Uprooting . Slavery . Betrayal . Crusades . Culture . Tradition . Family . Vengeance

✍️ ℙ𝕃𝕆𝕋: Before, there was his childhood, surrounded by friends and family, watched over by the ancient Yorùbá gods of forest and water, earth and sky. After: capture, slavery - and release, into the service of a new god, his own culture left far behind. So Àjàyí becomes Samuel Crowther - missionary, linguist, minister - and abolitionist: driven to negotiate against his own people to end the miserable trade in human beings which destroyed his family.

💭 𝕍𝕀𝔹𝔼𝕊: OPEN - HEARTFELT - HUMOROUS - CANDID

💟 𝔽𝔼𝔼𝕃𝕊: Now THAT is what I call storytelling.
I had no idea what was going on half the time or where we (the characters) were, but I was engaged and loved being dragged along on this insane journey.
The delivery and storytelling brought a lightness to the plot, making for easy consumption.
The characters were lovable ...there were also some I loved to hate.

I don't know if this was supposed to feel like magical realism (which I usually despise) but there was something magical about this story even though it deals with some tough topics.
The audio is narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor who did a gorgeous job of jumping between his narrators voice and his characters voices.

It was strange, it was intense, it was epic, it was fun.

[Blair (Patchwork Culture) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yoruba Boy Running recounts the life of Reverend Samuel Crowther, born Ajayi, a real historical figure who became the first African Bishop for the Anglican Church. Although slavery changed the course of Crowther’s life, Bandele made a unique choice to focus on other aspects of his story beyond his captivity. Besides the initial capture and sale from owner to owner, the book focused more on describing Crowther’s place of birth through its people, religion, and politics; his journey to Christianity; missionary work and translations; the relationship with his family; and his negotiations with what would become Nigeria on behalf of the British Crown. In the novel, Reverend Crowther maintained the joyfulness and playfulness he exhibited as a child. Nevertheless, being enslaved deeply impacted him and drove him to do his utmost to prevent the sale of any more humans. In pursuit of that cause, he helped reinforce other harms, and while he experienced racism within the church, he was instrumental in Great Britain’s exploitation of industry and natural resources. Religion improved his circumstances while weakening or negatively impacting so many others. His is a complicated and serious history, but one I am grateful to have learned about through Bandele’s poetic, colorful, and playful writing.

[Farah G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Captured by Malian slave traders at the age of 13, the man who eventually becomes Samuel Crowther, minister and abolitionist was once the boy Ajayi raised to revere the gods of his traditional Yoruba religion. This is the fascinating story of his personal journey from one to the other.

This provides a unique insight into a cultural that few of us are familiar with, and a life that was truly exceptional. How an animist child grew - through a trial by fire - to become the first African Bishop of the Church of England is a moving, harrowing and in many ways almost unbelievable story. Worth a read, it gets 3.5 stars.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

[Eden Jaynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I do agree that the writing itself could have used a bit more editing, I still rated 5 stars because clearly for this specific case further editing wouldn’t have been possible. I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed the entire first couple parts of the book leading up to Ajayi’s capture. Bandele’s description of the town and all of the characters, and specifically of the wedding night and royal court, was so in-depth and poetic that I felt like I was watching a movie instead of reading. It’s unfortunate that this book was published posthumously under the circumstances that occurred, and may the author rest peacefully.

[Neil Challis · Rating 4 out of 5]

First thanks to PRH for this uncorrected proof.
Reimagined story of Samuel Ayayi Crowther who was taken from his Nigerian home by slave traders and moved through various owners until he came to England and educated at Oxford, finding a calling and became a Bishop retuning to his native country at first treated with suspicion by the village leaders but accepted through his stoicism and faith.
The auther passed away in 2022.the manuscript was left with his publisher and with a few small changes is printed here.

[Kofoworola Emily (Read Till You Drop) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited to start this. By chapter 5, I was sure I would rate it 5 stars by the end.

Ehh, unfortunately, not. While I enjoyed the quality of the writing, the story started to feel disjointed very quickly. It began to read like it should have been a collection of stories rather than a novel.

I almost forgot who the book was supposed to focus on.

This was my first Biyi Bandele book, and I still intend to check out his other works, but it left me feeling a bit disappointed.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick Take:

Yoruba Boy Running is a novel of triumph over adversity, a powerful exploration of one man's journey from slavery to liberation. Through his masterful storytelling, Bandele brings Crowther's story to life, offering a rich and nuanced portrayal of his life and legacy. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in African history, literature, and the power of the human spirit.

[Kearstin Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was extremely well written and heartfelt

It added a cultural aspect that I was unaware of. I enjoyed the references as well as the key knowledge points.

Definitely a different book than I am used to but an enjoyable read

[Aliyu Pokima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant book. It explores a side of Ajayi Crowther that’s not mainstream - his childhood and latter years. Yoruba Boy Running is easy to read and is peppered with 19th century Yoruba history.

Highly recommend!

[Shelds · Rating 4 out of 5]

It wasn't an easy book for me to follow until about halfway through.
The early descriptions of life in Nigeria were grim and graphic.
A harsh realistic look at the history and truth today of the slave trade.

[liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why was it written like that? What was the structure? What was I supposed to take from it? I guess I know more about West African history, but the characters weren't interesting, and the time jump did not help. Chiwetel Ejiofor was a great reader though.

[Eseoghene King-Fashe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor plot and writing

[Alex Mormoris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of well informed fun.

[Booqmonk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic historical novel wey no dey dull at all. Gbosa for Biyi Bandele for confam storytelling talent!

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating imagining of an historical figure’s life. And what a sense id humour.

[Ras Tazie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story had a lot of potential but the storyline was chaotic. It was challenging to keep up with the various characters.

[Jasmine Chima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very descriptive and immersive, but also confusing to keep a tab on who every character is, but it’s links to the real story of Samuel Ajayi Crowther was really interesting

[Idinma · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️
an incredibly well-written and informative book

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,85/5

[Limarila · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wild ride of a book...