Say You're One of Them Uwem Akpan | ISBN : 0-316-11395-6

Say You're One of Them

Author: Uwem Akpan

Publisher: Little Brown & Company

Publication Date: 15 July, 2009

ISBN: 9780316113953

Pages: 384

Subjects:

Available as: Trade Paper, 978-0-316-11395-3 Trade Cloth, 978-0-316-08636-3 Trade Cloth, 978-0-316-11378-6 Trade Paper, 978-986-6285-13-4 Trade Paper, 978-0-316-08637-0 E-Book - EPUB; Open Ebook, 978-0-316-03252-0

Description:

Uwem Akpan's first published short story, "An Ex-mas Feast," appeared inThe New Yorker's Debut Fiction issue in 2005. The story's portrait of a family living together in a makeshift shanty in urbanKenya, and their attempts to find gifts of any kind for the impending Christmas holiday, gives a matter-of-fact reality to the most extreme circumstances--and signaled the arrival of a breathtakingly talented writer.

"My Parents' Bedroom" is a Rwandan girl's account of her family's struggles to maintain a facade of normalcy amid unspeakable acts. In "Fat tening forGabon," a brother and sister cope with their uncle's attempt to sell them into slavery. "Luxurious Hearses" creates a microcosm of Africa within a busload of refugees and introduces us to a Muslim boy who summons his faith to bear a treacherous ride throughNigeria. "What Language Is That?" reveals the emotional toll of the Christian-Muslim conflict inEthiopiathrough the eyes of childhood friends. Every story is a testament to the wisdom and resilience of children, even in the face of the most agonizing situations our planet can offer.

PW Publishers Weekly

Review Source: Publishers Weekly

Review Date: 2008-04-14

Nigerian-born Jesuit priest Akpan transports the reader into gritty scenes of chaos and fear in his rich debut collection of five long stories set in war-torn Africa. "An Ex-mas Feast" tells the heartbreaking story of eight-year-old Jigana, a Kenyan boy whose 12-year-old sister, Maisha, works as a prostitute to support her family. Jigana's mother quells the children's hunger by having them sniff glue while they wait for Maisha to earn enough to bring home a holiday meal. In "Luxurious Hearses," Jubril, a teenage Muslim, flees the violence in northern Nigeria. Attacked by his own Muslim neighbors, his only way out is on a bus transporting Christians to the south. In "Fattening for Gabon," 10-year-old Kotchikpa and his younger sister are sent by their sick parents to live with their uncle, Fofo Kpee, who in turn explains to the children that they are going to live with their prosperous "godparents," who, as Kotchikpa pieces together, are actually human traffickers. Akpan's prose is beautiful and his stories are insightful and revealing, made even more harrowing because all the horror--and there is much--is seen through the eyes of children. (June) Read a web-exclusive q&a with Uwem Akpan at www.publishersweekly.com/akpan. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved