Anthills of the Savannah (Penguin Modern Classics)

In the fictional West African state of Kangan, three former schoolfriends occupy different positions around an increasingly authoritarian government. Sam has become a military ruler surrounded by flatterers and security officers; Chris serves uneasily as Commissioner for Information; and Ikem, editor of the national newspaper, uses satire and public argument to challenge official lies. Their friendship deteriorates as drought, regional resentment and a failed campaign to make Sam president for life sharpen the regime’s fear of dissent.

Beatrice, a senior civil servant, becomes central as repression turns political disagreement into personal danger. Through shifting narrators, speeches, newspaper writing and oral storytelling, Achebe examines the failures of military government and the responsibility of intellectuals who work within compromised institutions. The novel reflects oil-boom Nigeria and the recurrent coups of the postcolonial era while resisting a simple contest between heroic opposition and corrupt power.