Believers and Hustlers is a bold, satirical collection of short stories that capture the contradictions, ironies, and comedy of everyday life in contemporary Nigeria. With razor-sharp wit and absurdist flair, Sylva Nze Ifedigbo dissects a society where survival often depends on faith, fraud, or both—where prophets promise miracles and hustlers promise wealth. Set in a world where truth bends under the weight of illusion, these stories spotlight characters who navigate religion, politics, corruption, social media, and identity with equal parts desperation and swagger. From a pastor who moonlights as a scammer to a young influencer caught in a whirlwind of half-truths, each tale is as hilarious as it is haunting. Perfect for readers of African satire, postcolonial fiction, and absurdist storytelling, Believers and Hustlers offers an unflinching yet humorous look at the hustle-and-belief culture gripping modern Africa. Ifedigbo’s voice is fresh, fearless, and unforgettable.
Ifedigbo can stand on the same podium as masters like Gurcharan Das. What makes his writing plain and unique at the same time, is the elegance of his prose. He writes with such clarity, that one does not need to be told that he is one of the best storytellers of his generation.
Believers and Hustlers is the contemporary Nigerian novel, doing on the page what Wole Soyinka’s Jero plays did on the stage. Mr. Ifedigbo’s writerly instincts probe, with uncanny accuracy, the religion-media matrix and the result is a milestone of a book, a book with a passport into most of Africa.
~Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)
Author Ifedigbo isn’t simply out to provide entertainment. In his bio, he says “the calling of a writer is to study humans explicitly and document this in simple, memorable stories.” He’s done that well. Believers and Hustlers is a study of the desperation caused by political, social, and economic corruption.
Quite a compelling thriller that got me gripping my tablet.
The name Believers and Hustlers, by Sylva Nze Ifedigbo, is absolutely the perfect description for this book! While this book was written about Nigeria, it's also a perfect commentary on the celebrity pastors and the megachurches around the U.S. and the world.
This was my first novel by a Nigerian author and I enjoyed it. The author adopts a teasing yet indulgent tone towards his characters, and towards the culture as a whole, their foibles and eccentricities, describing the easy manner in which people pick up foreign accents…I highly recommend this one.
“The book is well balanced on humor, mystery and culture. The author did a wonderful job of pacing the book and character development.”