Cross-Cultural Romance with Global Itinerary

A Conversation with Sarah Ladipo Manyika

- By Erik Gleibermann

Erik Gleibermann: I was thinking that In Dependence becomes a phenomenon of a particular kind in a particular country. So if we look at how it is received in Nigeria, then in the US, the UK, and also other countries in Africa, it will help us understand what your book is and what it can do. The book can also be a vehicle for understanding what is happening in these countries around the issues of interracial relationships and race in general. I am particularly interested in what is happening in Nigerian secondary schools.

Sarah Ladipo Manyika: I often think that a novel reads us as much as we read a novel.

So it’s interesting to see how In Dependence was read over a decade ago compared to how it’s read today in places like America, England, and South Africa. At the core of In Dependence is an interracial love story. You can think about love stories in different ways. You can think about a love story as being between two individuals, but you can also look at a love story in its larger macro context. It can be set in a time of war or civil rights activism or in a time of apartheid. Mine begins in the 1960s when there was a societal resistance to interracial relationships, as there still is in the UK, in the US, and many other places. It feels like a universal story because we’re still thinking and talking about these issues of race. You look at England, where the most popular couple is Meghan and Harry. There are a lot of people who are really excited about that, but there are a lot of people who are saying negative things. In the US, how many years are we past Loving v. Virginia (1967)? But look at these issues reflected now in public culture. Look at the film