''Every Day Is for the Thief'' is a 2007 novel by Nigerian-American author

Teju Cole Teju Cole (born June 27, 1975) is a Nigerian-American writer, photographer, and art historian. He is the author of a novella ''Every Day Is for the Thief'' (2007), a novel ''Open City'' (2011), an essay collection ''Known and Strange Things'' (20 ...

. The unnamed protagonist of the novel returns to

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

after fifteen years in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, only to find himself changed by living abroad and confused by the city. The novel was first published in Nigeria, but was later republished in the United States.

Plot summary

A man leaves New York to return to Lagos for the first time in 15 years after the death of his father and a fight with his mother. He realizes he is not as comfortable in his home country as he expected to be.

References

2007 Nigerian novels Novels set in Lagos Cassava Republic Press books {{2000s-novel-stub