No One Dies Yet

How do you begin a murder story starring a curious foreigner and an opportunistic local without giving away the entire plot—who died and why? You start with the obvious villain.2019, The Year of Return. It has been exactly 400 years since the first slave ships left Ghana for America. Ghana has now opened its doors to Black diasporans, encouraging them to return and get to know the land of their ancestors.Elton, Vincent, and Scott arrive from America to visit preserved sites from the transatlantic slave route, and to explore the country's underground queer scene. Their activities are narrated by their two combative guides: Kobby, their way into Accra's privileged circles; and Nana, the voice of tradition and religious principle. The pair's tense relationship sets the tone for what becomes a shocking and unsettling tale of murder that is at times funny, at times erotic, yet always outspoken and iconoclastic.

“Riotus, erotic, and thrilling, No One Dies Yet is a subversive and gripping tale that cements Kobby Ben Ben as a talented and provocative global voice.”, "A bold, brash and erudite novel by a writer invested in the possibilities of language. Not just the nuances of Ghana's local languages, but also the lies and euphemisms a nation chooses to live by, whether rendered in irreverent English dipped in "imperialist deceit", or powered by native insults. For its unflinching exploration of sexual life in urban Ghana and its narrative experiments, it is important: a début hinting at a promising future for Kobby Ben Ben. Ambitious in the scope of issues it tackles and expansive in its imaginative timeline, giving voice to both the quick and the dead, No One Dies Yet will stay with readers like a haunting.” , "No One Dies Yet is a glorious and experimental debut! Snatched from the first line, this book whipped me along its sharp turns and smoldering mystery. Kobby's storytelling audaciously defies genre; he masterfully weaves Ghanaian history of colonisation and enslavement, queer erotics, the supernatural, and the mundane in a manner that seems so effortless and reads smoothly. This book is darkly funny and surprising. Reading this was an adventure I'd go on again and again.” , "A wickedly arresting read. The sumptuous language paired with deep, dark characters and a murderous plot makes NO ONE DIES YET unputdownable. Kobby Ben Ben should be at the top of everyone's TBR pile!",  “A gorgeously sculpted book, No One Dies Yet is thrilling in a way that very few contemporary novels are. Kobby Ben Ben is a radical literary stylist on the rise.”

Kobby Ben Ben was born and bred in Ghana. No One Dies Yet is his first novel.

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