How long does it take to read Unexpected Joy at Dawn?
Alex Agyei-Agyiri
Unexpected Joy at Dawn by Alex Agyei-Agyiri takes about 6 hours 5 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 6 hours 5 minutes
A weekend read
First published 1988. 332 pages, about 91,300 words.
13 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 10 hours 9 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 6 hours 5 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 3 hours 48 minutes |
The page count is the median across 3 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
The book follows Nii Tackie, a Ghanaian‑born man of Nigerian descent, and his sister Mama Orojo who were separated years earlier by political upheaval and forced migration. Nii struggles with identity, hardship, and xenophobia in Ghana, while Mama Orojo builds a life in Nigeria but still longs for her brother. Their lives — shaped by displacement, poverty, prejudice, and family loyalty — unfold against the backdrop of migration and social chaos. Eventually, in the early morning “dawn,” an unexpected reunion occurs, giving the novel its title.
Subjects: Fiction, Return migration, Identity Crisis
