About the Author

Helon Habila was born in Nigeria in 1967. He won the Caine Prize for African Writing 2001 for the opening section of his first book, Waiting for an Angel, which then went on to win the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book, Africa Region, in 2003. His second book was called Measuring Time. He now divides his time between America and Nigeria.

Reviews

Compassionate, emotive, masterly . . . draws on the tradition of the classic detective novel but also operates on a deeper, metaphorical and philosophical level
*Independent*

A lean, evocative novel - part thriller, part meditation on the deadly cost of the region's under-reported oil politics . . . a classic coming-of-age narrative
*Daily Mail*

Powerful, accomplished . . . Oil on Water lays bare the real-life tragedy of the Niger delta, in which petrodollars warp human relationships as surely as leaking crude poisons birds and fish
*Observer*

Habila's writing has that combination of elegance and rattling-good-yarn that we associate with Conrad and Graham Greene . . . Terrific
*The Times*

Habila is a master at evoking the plight of characters who ask for little, and end up with even less . . . this is a book you can't put down
*Boston Globe*

In a beautiful, almost cinematic style, Habila moves back and forth in time to tell a story swathed in the cynicism of modern global development and the mysteries of human longing
*Booklist*

This is a powerful novel that is both creepy and engaging
*Bookseller*

Compassionate, emotive, masterly . . . draws on the tradition of the classic detective novel but also operates on a deeper, metaphorical and philosophical level * Independent *
A lean, evocative novel - part thriller, part meditation on the deadly cost of the region's under-reported oil politics . . . a classic coming-of-age narrative * Daily Mail *
Powerful, accomplished . . . Oil on Water lays bare the real-life tragedy of the Niger delta, in which petrodollars warp human relationships as surely as leaking crude poisons birds and fish * Observer *
Habila's writing has that combination of elegance and rattling-good-yarn that we associate with Conrad and Graham Greene . . . Terrific * The Times *
Habila is a master at evoking the plight of characters who ask for little, and end up with even less . . . this is a book you can't put down * Boston Globe *
In a beautiful, almost cinematic style, Habila moves back and forth in time to tell a story swathed in the cynicism of modern global development and the mysteries of human longing * Booklist *
This is a powerful novel that is both creepy and engaging * Bookseller *