Wilderness of Mirrors with Olufemi Terry

About this episode

Caine Prize-winning author Olufemi Terry discusses his debut novel, Wilderness of Mirrors, and its themes related to the political landscape of Cape Town.

Caine Prize-winning author Olufemi Terry talks about his debut novel, Wilderness of Mirrors set in Stadmutter, a multiracial city at the southern tip of Africa modeled after Cape Town. Terry talks about the changing political landscape of Cape Town and his novel, his journalism, and the inspirations for the book. Author Lola Shoneyin calls it: “An unsentimental portrait of young adulthood in a city both beguiling and perilous, and which reflects Africans as they are too rarely depicted: hybrid, modern, and shaped by their own profound contradictions. Terry’s pared but illuminating prose captures the weight of its protagonists’ search for their place in the world.”

People in this episode

Guest: Olufemi Terry

Topics covered

• debut novel
• political landscape
• journalism
• young adulthood
• multiracial city

Keywords

• Wilderness of Mirrors
• Caine Prize
• Cape Town
• Lola Shoneyin

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Wilderness of Mirrors, Caine Prize

Places: Stadmutter, Africa, Cape Town

More episodes of Fall for the Book Podcast

• Don't Take This the Wrong Way with Kim Magowan & Michelle Ross · April 7, 2026 · 37 min
• Experimental Memoirs with Tom McAllister & Sebastian Matthews · March 10, 2026 · 32 min
• Considering Us with Jenn Bouchard · February 10, 2026 · 21 min
• Daughters of Bronze with A.D. Rhine · January 13, 2026 · 32 min
• In the House of Modern Upbringing for Girls with Majda Gama · December 9, 2025 · 30 min
• These Memories Do Not Belong To Us with Yiming Ma · October 14, 2025 · 23 min