The Interpreters (African Writers Series) - Wole Soyinka

The Interpreters is a novel by Wole Soyinka, and is part of the influential Heinemann African Writers Series. It is the first and one of the only three novels written by Soyinka; he is principally known as a playwright. The novel was written in English and later translated into a number of languages.

The novel is set in the 1960s, in post-independence and pre-civil war Nigeria, mainly in Lagos. There are five main characters in the novel: the foreign ministry clerk Egbo, the university professor Bandele, the journalist Sagoe, the engineer turned sculptor Sekoni, and the artist Kola. They were friends at high school, then went abroad to study, and returned to start middle-class jobs in Nigeria.