The Interpreters is a novel by Wole Soyinka, first published in London by André Deutsch in 1965[1] and later republished as part of the influential Heinemann African Writers Series.

There are five main characters in the novel: the foreign ministry clerk Egbo, the university professor Bandele, the journalist Sagoe, the engineer turned sculptor Sekoni, and the artist Kola.

They were friends at high school, then went abroad to study, and returned to start middle-class jobs in Nigeria.

The narrative of The Interpreters seems chaotic, with Soyinka constantly returning to past events, and some effort is needed for the understanding of even the main characters, especially Egbo and Sagoe.

Many other characters (university professors, editor board of the newspaper where Sagoe works at) are given schematically, fully conforming to the prevailing stereotypes of the era.