The Palm-Wine Drinkard
#5893.71 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1952 Reading commitment Low Amos Tutuola Last reviewed 2026-08-27
Overview
The Palm-Wine Drinkard follows a nameless narrator, a man so devoted to palm wine that he keeps a personal tapster to supply him, who journeys into the land of the dead to bring his tapster back after the man's accidental death. Written in the author's own distinctive Nigerian-English idiom and drawing directly on Yoruba oral folklore, the 1952 novel was one of the earliest African novels published in English and is now recognized as a foundational text of African fantasy fiction.
Mythic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
The Palm-Wine Drinkard (1952) core · 3.71 (4,021 ratings); Full original title: The Palm-Wine Drinkard and His Dead Palm-Wine Tapster in the Deads' Town. Published in the UK by Faber and Faber in 1952 and in the US by Grove Press in 1953; written in an idiosyncratic Nigerian-English idiom drawing directly on Yoruba oral folklore.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Palm-Wine Drinkard? The Palm-Wine Drinkard's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is The Palm-Wine Drinkard finished? Complete (1952).
- How much reading does The Palm-Wine Drinkard take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~125 pages).
- How is The Palm-Wine Drinkard ranked? #589 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 4,021 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #589?
Ranked #589 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.71 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (4,021 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #588, Guin Saga (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 1 book · Complete · 4k ratings · Ranks #589 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- No competitive literary award record was found for this work; it predates most fantasy-specific awards.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.71 across 4,021 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit The Palm-Wine Drinkard (Amos Tutuola) accepted 2026-08-27
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia Tier 2
- Encyclopaedia Britannica Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-08-27
Rule: Core Canon is the single complete novel, the only work in this universe.