What is the name of the magical realist novel by Ben Okri that won the Booker Prize in 1991?

Ben Okri’s magical-realist novel that won the 1991 Booker Prize is “The Famished Road.”

Published in 1991, the novel is narrated by Azaro, an abiku or spirit child who moves between the human world and a vividly imagined spirit realm. He lives with his parents in an unnamed African city, generally understood to be Nigerian, amid poverty, political violence, exploitation, and the approach of independence-era change.

Okri’s magical realism draws on African spiritual traditions rather than merely imitating the Latin American tradition most associated with the term. Spirits and material reality coexist in the narrative, while folklore, dreams, recurring births, and political allegory blur the boundaries between the visible and invisible worlds. This gives the novel a distinctive form sometimes described as animist realism.

“The Famished Road” begins a trilogy continued by “Songs of Enchantment” and “Infinite Riches.” Its Booker victory made Okri, then aged 32, the youngest winner of the prize at that time. The other options are genuine Okri titles or related literary works, which makes them plausible but incorrect choices.