The Famished Road is a fantasy Booker-Prize winning novel written by Ben Okri and was published in the United Kingdom on 14 March 1991 by Jonathan Cape publishers.
The novel follows the life of Azaro, a spirit child, travelling in Nigeria. Azaro is pressured into leaving the mortal world in favor of the spirit world but due to his personal and familial ties, he insists in remaining on Earth. The novel explores the strong familial connections that are prevalent in the Nigerian community and Okri has also been noted for his allusions to the belief in another world after death.
The novel has been praised for its unique writing style, in using Magical realism and African Traditional Religion realism in order to intertwine the real world and the spirit world. The novel was also the basis for the famous song by the music group Radiohead, "Street Spirit (Fade Out)."
