No One Dies Yet (2023) by Kobby Ben Ben

Ghanian author Kobby Ben Ben

Book Review

No One Dies Yet (2023)

by Kobby Ben Ben

   This is a debut novel by an exciting new voice in literature, Ghanian author Kobby Ben Ben.  No One Dies Yet was released in the UK last year, but the US edition just dropped.    Set in 2019, Ghana's Year of Return, No One Dies Yet is many things at once:  A fierce depiction of the difficulties of LGBT life inside Africa, the book culture of social media, a satire of African-Americans and others who arrive as tourists in Ghana expecting a transformative experience no matter the reality/truth of the matter, a wry commentary of the expectations of the western publishing industry as it relates to emerging African voices and a riff on world of literary serial killers/murders found in books like the Talented Mr. Ripley, American Psycho and yes, My Sister the Serial Killer.  

      No One Dies Yet is both an astute work of literature that can be read on its own terms and a sly work of meta-fiction that provides a cogent critique of the literary world itself and its expectations.  I found it to be astonishing, so much so that after reading a library copy on my Kindle I went out and bought the book itself so I could recommend it to friends and acquaintances.  I loved everything about No One Dies Yet except the many hot gay sex scenes, but I'm sure many readers would love those bits, and it's not like I disliked them, since they very much relate to the themes of the book and play a significant role therein. 

  Without belaboring the point, I want to give No One Dies Yet my highest recommendation- check it out for sure!!!