Tochi Onyebuchi, "Harmattan Season: A Novel" (Tor Books, 2025)

About this episode

Tochi Onyebuchi discusses his novel Harmattan Season, exploring themes of colonialism, violence, and the writing process.

Tochi Onyebuchi’s novel Harmattan Season : A Novel (Tor Books, 2025) follows Boubacar, a veteran and private eye living in French occupied West Africa, as he begins a reluctant journey to discover what happened to the bleeding woman who stumbled onto his doorway and vanished soon after. That mystery quickly drags Bouba into exactly the kind of violence and political intrigue he had been working so hard to avoid. In this interview, Onyebuchi describes finding Boubacar’s voice and the different noir tropes he was most excited about. We discuss fiction as a way to examine colonialism, magic as a tool for social exploration as well as engaging set pieces, and the joy of fast-paced novels. We also talk depictions of violence, world-wise urchin kids, and experimentation and growth throughout a writing career. Harmattan Season is a compelling and thoughtful adventure and it was so much fun discussing it with the author. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/fantasy

People in this episode

Host: Marshall Poe

Guest: Tochi Onyebuchi

Topics covered

• colonialism
• noir tropes
• political intrigue
• violence
• social exploration
• writing career

Keywords

• Harmattan Season
• Tochi Onyebuchi
• noir
• colonialism
• political intrigue
• violence
• writing

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Tor Books

Books & works: Harmattan Season: A Novel

Places: French occupied West Africa

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