The Road to the Salt Sea
Libya Nigeria Italy

The Road to the Salt Sea

by Samuel Kolawole

Immigration Historical Fiction Literary Fiction 2024

Summary

Able God is a bright young Nigerian man with an engineering degree, a love of chess, and hopes for a better future. But instead of building the life he imagined, he works long hours delivering room service at a luxury hotel, serving wealthy guests while struggling to make ends meet. When an encounter with a powerful and dangerous hotel guest turns violent, Able God finds himself caught in a situation that leaves him with few options. Fearing the consequences, he flees Nigeria and joins a group of migrants travelling across the Sahara toward Europe.

Led by a charismatic religious figure, the travellers embark on a perilous journey through Niger and Libya, hoping to reach a place where they can begin again. Instead, they encounter human traffickers, starvation, exploitation, and violence. As survival becomes his only priority, Able God is forced to question his beliefs about morality, faith, and the possibility of a better life. In The Road to the Salt Sea, Samuel Kolawole offers a powerful portrait of migration, exposing the human cost of inequality and the desperate choices made by those seeking safety and opportunity beyond their homeland.

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About the author
Samuel Kolawole
Samuel Kolawole

Samuel Kọ́láwọ́lé is a Nigerian novelist born and raised in Ibadan, Nigeria. His writing explores migration, inequality, faith, and the experiences of people navigating difficult social and economic circumstances. He studied at the University of Ibadan, earned a master’s degree in creative writing from Rhodes University in South Africa, completed an MFA in Writing and Publishing at Vermont College of Fine Arts, and received a PhD in English and Creative Writing from Georgia State University. His debut novel, The Road to the Salt Sea (2024), won the 2025 Whiting Award for Fiction and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel. Kolawole’s short fiction has appeared in literary journals including AGNI, The Georgia Review, and The Hopkins Review. He teaches English and African studies at Pennsylvania State University, where he continues to explore stories rooted in African experiences and the wider realities of displacement and belonging.

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Details
Published
2024
Author
Samuel Kolawole