In Fairy God SisterSylva Nze Ifedigbo discusses his book The Funeral Did Not End:
More hereD Fairy GodSister: When I see, ‘the funeral did not end’ I think of Nigeria and the absolute tragedy she’s becoming by the day’. Was that your inspiration?
NZE SYLVA: In many ways, the title of the book is a metaphor for the general state of the country. We seem to exist in a funeral happening in present continuous tense. In truth, The Funeral Did Not End is the title of one of the stories in the collection which dwelt on real life funeral, our excessive celebration of it which in most cases leaves the living perpetually in mourning. Juxtapose that with the situation of Nigeria and you can draw a clear relationship.
D Fairy GodSister: *sigh* So with your book you capture the reality that is Nigeria. Does your book offer any hope?
NZE SYLVA: Yeah, the book is my effort to fictionalize social commentary which I believe will reach a wider audience, invoke a better appreciation of our issues and hopefully trigger a more pragmatic response. Certainly it offers hope. That the book made it out after long delays occasioned by the inadequacies of our system is hope in itself. But as a fiction writer, I do not necessarily preach a gospel of hope directly. I hope my readers who are discerning beings will dig in and pick the message for themselves.
