About the Book

Each story in this jubilantly acclaimed collection pays testament to the wisdom and resilience of children, even in the face of the most agonizing circumstances.
A family living in a makeshift shanty in urban Kenya scurries to find gifts of any kind for the impending Christmas holiday. A Rwandan girl relates her family's struggles to maintain a facade of normalcy amid unspeakable acts. A young brother and sister cope with their uncle's attempt to sell them into slavery. Aboard a bus filled with refugees-a microcosm of today's Africa-a Muslim boy summons his faith to bear a treacherous ride across Nigeria. Through the eyes of childhood friends the emotional toll of religious conflict in Ethiopia becomes viscerally clear.
Uwem Akpan's debut signals the arrival of a breathtakingly talented writer who gives a matter-of-fact reality to the most extreme circumstances in stories that are nothing short of transcendent.

Product Details

Media: Hardcover Book, 358 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Little Brown and Company (Sep. 30th, 2009)

ISBN-10: 0316086363

ISBN-13: 9780316086363

Dimensions: 6.34 x 8.53 x 1.21 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.05 lbs

• Categories: Single Author Short Stories