🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Teju Cole
He was born in the US in 1975 to Nigerian parents, and grew up in Nigeria. His dad was a business executive that exported chocolate while his mom taught French. The first book Teju read was at the age of 6, it was an abridged version of “Tom Sawyer”. He regularly published cartoons in Prime People, the Nigerian version of Vanity Fair. “Open City” won the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Rosenthal Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the New York City Book Award for Fiction, the Internationaler Literaturpreis. It was also shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Ondaatje Prize of the Royal Society of Literature, and the New York Public Library Young Lions Award.
All Book Series by Teju Cole
Human Archipelago
Latest in the series · book 4 of 4 · published 2022 Co-authored · Fazal Sheikh
The Great Derangement
Series opener · book 1 of 4 · published 2016 Anthology · Amitav Ghosh
Democracy in the Time of Coronavirus
Latest in the series · book 4 of 4 · published 2021 Anthology · Jonathan Lear,Danielle S. Allen
Tales of Two Cities: The Best and Worst of Times In Today's New York
Book 3 of 4 · published 2014
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Teju Cole?
He was born in the US in 1975 to Nigerian parents, and grew up in Nigeria. His dad was a business executive that exported chocolate while his mom taught French. The first book Teju read was at the age of 6, it was an abridged version of “Tom Sawyer”.
Which Teju Cole series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Berlin Family Lectures series, the earliest of Teju Cole's multi-book series: it opens with The Great Derangement (2016) and runs to 4 books across 2016–2021, ending with Democracy in the Time of Coronavirus (2021).
How many books has Teju Cole written?
Teju Cole has 16 books catalogued in this guide, published between 2007 and 2024. 4 of them belong to 1 named series — the largest being the Berlin Family Lectures series with 4 books — and 12 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Teju Cole's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Teju Cole's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Berlin Family Lectures (2016–2021, 4 books).
How are Teju Cole's books organised into series?
This guide splits Teju Cole's 16 books into 1 named series and 12 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Berlin Family Lectures (4 books, 2016–2021).