Uwem Akpan’s ‘Say You’re One of Them’

As a librarian who has spent a fair bit of time in Africa, I am always looking for books that describe the Africa that I have seen. When I picked up Uwem Akpan’s Say You’re One of Them earlier this year,  I had no idea how painful the stories would feel, or how stunningly accurate the language would read, but it has now jumped to the top of my list of books set in Africa.  The longest story in the collection, “Fattening for Gabon,” is set in Benin, a country that few have heard of but where I was lucky enough to live during my Peace Corps service. In the same way that certain songs or smells or tastes can transport one back to an earlier time,  Akpan’s  merging of English, French, and local languages was so skillfully written it instantly transported me back to my neighborhood in Benin. 

Despite all of this, I was surprised by — and thrilled — when Oprah selected Say You’re One of Them for her book club.  Yay, Oprah!   Thanks to her, you can now listen to Akpan talk about his book and his life as a Nigerian Minister living in Zimbabwe.

For other good fiction out of Nigeria try:

• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Helon Habila
• Helen Oyeyemi
• Ben Okri
• And, of course, Chinua Achebe

~ Valerie W.,  Central Library