A Good Man in Africa (novel)

A Good Man in Africa is a 1981 novel by William Boyd. It is a satirical comedy set in the fictional West African nation of Kinjanja. The story centers around Morgan Leafy, a hapless and overweight British diplomat stationed at the British High Commission in Nkongsamba.

Leafy is a morally ambiguous and often incompetent figure, whose ambition is to rise through the ranks of the diplomatic service. His life is complicated by a series of unfortunate events, including his entanglement with Celia Adekunle, a beautiful and manipulative local woman, and his involvement in a disastrous scheme to discredit Dr. Murray, a Scottish United Nations official who is exposing corruption within the Kinjanian government.

The novel explores themes of colonialism, corruption, cultural misunderstandings, and the absurdities of diplomatic life. Boyd's writing is characterized by its dark humor and sharp observations of human nature. The narrative often employs irony and satire to critique the attitudes and behaviors of Westerners living and working in Africa.

A Good Man in Africa was Boyd's first novel and established him as a significant voice in contemporary British literature. It won the Whitbread First Novel Award in 1981.