Oprah's Book Club Selection 2009.
A powerful and vivid debut collection describing the plight of children caught up in difficult and often harrowing situations throughout the continent of Africa.'Nothing interests Maman today, not even Jean, her favorite child... She acts dumb, bewitched, like a goat that the neighborhood children have fed sorghum beer.'
These extraordinary stories centre on African conflicts as seen through the eyes of children and describes their resilience and endurance in heartbreaking detail. From child trafficking to inter-religious conflicts, Uwem Akpan reveals in beautiful prose the resilience and endurance of children faced with the harsh consequences of deprivation and terror.
Say You're One of Them gives voice to its children in beautifully crafted prose and stunning detail. Uwem Akpan is a major new literary talent. - Peter Godwin, author of Mukiwa
Uwem Akpan writes with a politcal fierceness and a humanity so full of compassion it might just change the world. His is a burning talent. - Chris Abani, author of The Virgin of the Flames
Uwem Akpan was born in Ikot Akpan Eda, in southern Nigeria . After studying philosophy and English at Creighton and Gonzaga universities, he studied theology for three years at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa . He was ordained as a Jesuit priest in 2003 and received his MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan in 2006. In 2008 he completed a teaching assignment at a seminary in Harare, Zimbabwe, and is now at a parish in Lagos, Nigeria.