Soccer Was Out, So He Became a Novelist Instead

Chigozie Obioma, the fifth of 12 children in a Nigerian family, dreamed of following in Maradona’s footsteps. Bouts of malaria drove him to books — and changed his life.

​Chigozie Obioma, the fifth of 12 children in a Nigerian family, dreamed of following in Maradona’s footsteps. Bouts of malaria drove him to books — and changed his life.