What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah | Book Review

What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky is a collection of twelve exceptional short stories by new author, Lesley Nneka Arimah. It begins with
The Future Looks Good, a tale spanning three generations of women, then continues with War Stories, Wild, Light, Second Chances, Windfalls, Who Will Greet You at Home, Buchi's Girls, What It Means When A Man Falls From the Sky, Glory, What Is a Volcano? and ends with Redemption, a tale about a young girl who's enamored with the new housemaid next door and unable to put into words the new feelings this arrival stirs in her. I loved every story in this impressive debut collection. Every. Single. Story.

The first time I read anything by Lesley was last year when I reviewed the Caine Prize for African Writing 2016 Anthology in which What It Means When A Man Falls From the Sky was shortlisted for the prestigious prize. In spite of that I still felt like I was coming to this collection without a good sense of Lesley and the directions she would/could go literarily. The Future Looks Good is a great opener. It's heartwarming from the beginning but in the last sentence Lesley thrusts a knife into my chest. I had to pause like...ohh gawd... Why would you string us along like that? Like everything would be alright? I was shocked, "hurt", impressed, and nervously excited about the rest of the collection. Again and again Lesley showed that she wasn't one for happy endings and I love that in any author that I read. Her tales cover love, heartbreak, grief, guilt, homosexuality etcetera. Windfalls was goood. Who Will Greet You at Home seems like the sort of tale you'd expect from Stephen King. I couldn't finish it in one sitting lol. My anxiety rose with each page I flipped especially because I had become aware of what Lesley could do. I love Who Will Greet You at Home a lot. Love it. Somehow What It Means When A Man Falls From the Sky felt like a brand new tale and that ending... No... (insert sad emoji). What Is a Volcano is brilliant, well written and so absorbing. I love it. I don't know if it's drawn from an actual folklore told by any of the various community of peoples Lesley's multicultural background has exposed her to but I really like it. Lesley's tales are unforgettable. Thank you Lesley. Thank you. You should read this. 

Voice of America by E.C. Osondu | Book Review

Voice of America is a collection of eighteen short stories. It begins with Waiting and ends with the titular story, Voice of America. Some of the characters live in Nigeria and fantasize about the American life while swapping and parroting myths about Americans. Other times the characters are immigrants living in America and grappling with the realities of the American way of life. Of the eighteen short stories I only like seven - Waiting (I love, love, love this one. There's a reason it won the 2009 Caine Prize for African Writing), Bar Beach (love this), Our First American (love this one), Jimmy Carter's Eyes (I love this one a lot. It was a finalist for the 2007 Caine Prize for African Writing), A Letter from Home (love this), The Men They Married, and I Will Lend You My Wife. I had a mixed reaction to some of the remaining nine stories and disliked a couple of them.

Voice of America is E.C. Osondu's debut collection of short stories. It was published in 2010 and I've seen it referenced and recommended so many times over the last few years. Because it's so well regarded I expected to like it or at least a good chunk of it but things didn't turn out that way. I loved the first few stories but as I got further in my reading I encountered more and more stories I did not care for. Welcome to America was where my reading completely stalled for the first time. Every other entertainment choice in my house was more appealing than returning to that story but I finally got through it.

The first E.C. Osondu book I read was his second collection of short stories This House Is Not For Sale when it was published last year. I love that book a lot. Voice of America bears some similarities with This House Is Not For Sale except that the country of obsession by its characters is America instead of Britain. Voice of America is very enjoyable at the good points and E.C. Osondu's humor cracked me up just as it always does. I honestly would have liked to walk away loving the majority of stories in this highly regarded collection by Osondu. Honestly. If This House Is Not For Sale is an 8 out of 10 then Voice of America is a 5 out of 10.

READ:
This House Is Not For Sale by E.C. Osondu | Book Review

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Happiness, Like Water by Chinelo Okparanta | Book Review

Happiness, Like Water is a collection of ten compelling short stories. It begins with Chinwe and Eze in the story On Ohaeto Street. Chinwe is quiet and dutiful woman who becomes a Jehovah's Witness in order to marry Eze, a prosperous and materialistic Jehovah's Witness whom she first meets when he arrives at her mother's doorstep to preach the good news of God's Kingdom. After marriage and with the passage of time, Chinwe's disquiet grows and she questions her choices and weighs her options. The collection continues with Wahala, Fairness, Story, Story!, Runs Girl, America, Shelter, Grace, Designs, and finally Tumors and Butterflies. These are stories about relationships, domestic abuse, colorism, immigration and girls who love girls, narrated by female protagonists for the most part. Each tale sits comfortably on its own, weighty and deep, ready to be lengthened if Okparanta chooses.

When I found out Chinelo Okparanta had been raised a Jehovah's Witness I hoped that she would explore that religious background deeply in one of the stories but she didn't and that's fine. The stories America and Grace are bold in their exploration of Nigerian protagonists attracted to members of the same sex but still somewhat tame in its handling of the accompanying issues. I don't think any Nigerian author has written this openly about same sex relationships since Jude Dibia broke the ice with his debut novel, Walking With Shadows, and followed up in his third novel, Blackbird. Happiness, Like Water is a well written short story collection that can't be ignored in any line-up. Chinelo Okparanta is a bold new voice and an excellent addition to the literary throng of voices from Nigeria. Her full length novel Under the Udala Trees will be released in two weeks on September 22nd, 2015.
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READ:
11 Questions for Jude Dibia

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African Roar 2014 | Book Review

African Roar 2014 is the fifth book in the African Roar anthology series edited by Ivor Hartmann and Emmanuel Siguake. It's an annual collection of fictional short stories authored by African writers, and published by StoryTime Publishing. African Roar 2014 is a collection of nine short stories authored by relative unknowns. Flight by Jayne Bauling; My Wedding by Obinna Ozoigbo; The Side Dish by Edwin P. Magezi; Beth's Aid by Tabitha Wanja Mwangi; Talking to a Lizard by Obinna Udenwe; Coming Home in a Box by Olorunfunmi Demilade Temitope; The Bell Not Touched by Nonso Uzozie; Spinoza's Monad by Ezeiyoke Chukwunonso; and A Salute to Safety Sam by Tendai Machingaidze. This is the first collection I have read from the series, and it begins with one of the best, and most inspiring introductions I have ever read, written by the amazing Ivor Hartmann.

African Roar 2014 begins with the interesting tale, Flight by Jayne Bauling (South Africa). In Flight, Phindile has been forced by her mother to shelve her dreams and ambitions so her spoilt little brother can have a better future. It's a simple tale about a caged girl that's pretty good. It's the best of the bunch.

Obinna Ozoigbo (Nigeria) follows Jayne with his tale, My Wedding. It's about a child bride in the Nigerian city of Kano. It's a story with the potential to crush but it misses because Obinna muddles it with crap. It should have been simpler and less cluttered so that this twelve year old's horror doesn't leave you after you're done with the tale.

Edwin P. Magezi (Uganda) livens things back up with his tale, The Side Dish.  I like it. I found it humorous and interesting, and then I got to the end. Magezi wraps up his tale in a manner that I found reminiscent of some of the African tales I grew up reading and listening to. The ones with those "teaching" moments where a devious character is punished or experiences a drastic turn around that drills into its reader the idea that there are consequences to being bad. Tales such as the one where no one helps move the giant rock obstructing traffic in the middle of the road until one "good" person finally does and finds a reward underneath it that has been placed by a wealthy man to reward society for doing good. Or the stories about an old weary beggar on the side of the road who's an angel in disguise, testing people's kindness and generosity. That kind of thing.

Tabitha Wanja Mwangi (Kenya) follows with Beth's Aid. Wamboi is a young girl from a poor background who really, really wants more that what her hardworking parents can provide. It's another good one in this collection.

Obinna Udenwe (Nigeria) penned Talking to a Lizard and he's the first to drop the baton in this collection. In Talking to a Lizard, Edeh and his cousin follow their grandfather Ngele to another town for his annual trip to visit his friend. It's a "meh" tale that bored me.

Olorunfunmi Demilade Temitope (Nigeria) follows Udenwe's poisoned lead with her tale, Coming Home in a Box. In Coming Home in a Box, word spreads that the great chief is dead and arrangements are made for his burial. Family and foes gather to decide how his immense wealth should be split up. It's a familiar African tale, the stuff Nollywood dramas are sometimes made of. Coming Home in a Box is boring and doesn't at all fit in with the caliber of prose I expected to find in this collection. Will there be another tale to prop this collection back on its feet?

Definitely not a tale from Nonso Uzozie (Nigeria) who wrote The Bell Not Touched. A dim, eye-roll worthy story about the mysteries of a giant bell in a village school. I'm just going to stop there. After Nonso's prose I became worried that the best of African Roar 2014 ended with Tabitha Wanja Mwangi's Beth's Aid.

Spinoza's Monad is a badly written tale of two Nigerian lesbians trying to raise a child together in their local community. It was penned by Ezeiyoke Chukwunonso (Nigeria). It's a bland, overly dramatic tale that did not hit any of the chords that it rightly should. I mean this is a tale of Nigerian lesbians who get artificially inseminated and try to raise that kid in a traditional Nigerian community. That's a goldmine of material to work with but Chukwunonso makes it an emotionless mess, that lacks depth and is unworthy of being in this lineup.

Finally, African Roar 2014 closes out with A Salute to Safety Sam by Tendai Machingaidze (Zimbabwe). A Salute to Safety Sam is a mushy travelogue that was a waste of my time. I wish African Roar 2014 had picked a more deserving short story to bid us goodbye until next year.

Overall, it was a great idea to start with Jayne Bauling's Flight. The quality of stories take a dip with Udenwe's tale, and continue that way with all other subsequent authors. I applaud the creator(s) of African Roar for this producing this series. Please do not stop. Inasmuch as I wish I had a better reading experience, I love the concept of this series, and its potential to introduce us all to new talent from all over the African continent. To support the African Roar series, I'll endeavor to review every new African Roar series on this blog every December. Kudos to everyone who had a part in this series. Much kudos to Ivor Hartmann.

[Image via StoryTime]

A Life Elsewhere by Segun Afolabi | Book Review

A Life Elsewhere is a collection of seventeen short stories. Afolabi begins with his 2005 Caine Prize for African Writing Award winning short story, Monday Morning. Monday Morning is followed by: People You Don't Know, The Wine Guitar, Arithmetic, The Visitor, Two Sisters, The Husband of Your Wife's Best Friend, Moses, Now that I'm Back, The Long Way Home, Something in the Water, Mrs Minter, Another Woman, Mrs Mahmood, Gifted, In the Garden, and finally, Jumbo and Jacinta. Of the lot I am most fond of Monday Morning, The Wine Guitar, The Visitor, Two Sisters, The Long Way Home, Something in the Water, Gifted, and Jumbo and Jacinta. That's a lot to like in a short story collection.

There's something Afolabi does with loneliness as a subject matter that I find very, very appealing and laudable. Whether it's random pockets of loneliness in a character's everyday life or a life lived in perpetual loneliness (like the old man in The Wine Guitar), Afolabi makes it fresh and poignant every single time. I really love it when Afolabi's characters congregate in a scene like at dinner time or at an outing. Their interactions are delightful. Everyone with their own private issues coming together to create a memorable scene. I loved it in his first book that I read, Goodbye Lucille, and I love it in this novel too. A Life Elsewhere is not a cluster of tales with happily ever afters. This is real life with all of its fears, tears, worries, and regrets. It's a collection of compelling characters whose stories end in ellipsis, unfinished as Afolabi moves on to the next tale. A Life Elsewhere is a guided tour of humanity lead by the gifted Segun Afolabi who pulls us along even though we want to linger at the windows.
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READ Goodbye Lucille by Segun Afolabi - My Thoughts
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Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan | Book Review

"Say You're One of Them" is one of those books you’ll want to endorse from the top of the Eiffel Tower just to get people to read it. It’s a collection of five mesmerizing short stories that has lifted Akpan from obscurity to worldwide prominence, many thanks to Oprah’s keen eye for exceptional books. Akpan's debut is nothing short of impressive.

In “An Exmas Feast”, the first story in the collection, Jigana’s twelve year old sister Maisha provides for their family of eight materially, cancels the family debt and saves towards Jigana's schooling with the money she makes prostituting on the streets of Kenya. Life on the street is tough. Too often they have to sniff glue to stifle hunger and use their infant sibling to beg for alms. When Maisha elopes, Jigana changes his mind about schooling and chooses the only other option available.

In “Fattening for Gabon” two siblings, Yewa and Kotchikpa are taken away from their village family by a crooked uncle with promises of a better life. Slowly his sinister designs for them unravel. He changes their names and feeds them twisted lies to disguise his depraved intentions. Things spiral out of control and bring the story to a shocking climax. This is one of the most compelling of the lot. The last scene is haunting; Kotchikpa's last sentence is unforgettable. You will pause to catch your breath before moving on.

“What Language Is That?” is the shortest story in the collection. Two little girls in Ethiopia are forced by their parents to end their friendship because of “faith differences”. The tension in the town forces her family to move but not before she learns a new language.

In “Luxurious Hearses”, Jubril, a Nigerian Muslim teenager is fleeing the religious crisis in his northern homeland and heading south hoping to find solace in the hometown of his estranged father. The bus he boards is crowded with displaced and embittered southerners mourning their losses and heading home to uncertainty. The grisly massacre showing on the on-board television does nothing but fuel their rage towards northerners. As they chatter, weep, fight, curse and stare in shock at the violence on-screen, Jubril, the lone northerner in the middle of blood thirsty southerners, struggles to remain composed and unobtrusive because his life depends on it.

Finally, in ‘My Parents Bedroom,’ Monique’s mother leaves her instructions and disappears into the night. She’s nine years old and alone with her younger brother. Outside, the conflict between the Hutu and the Tutsi ethnic groups rages on; smoke billows from plundered houses; vultures poke the newly mutilated bodies of her neighbors that are stretched out on the bloody streets. It’s only a matter of time before they get to her house; before she confronts evil that will haunt her for the rest of her life.

Akpan dutifully gives his voice to the torn, forgotten, blighted children on the African continent who are at the heart of these stories. This book with its brilliant insight and impressive storytelling is Akpan’s ticket into the ranks of respectable third generation African authors. “Say You're One of Them" is a stunning debut. Do not borrow one, BUY it!

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