Say You're One of Them

Sharp African stories from a promising new voice
Given the weight of his compelling New Yorker short stories and the fact that he was shortlisted for the "African Booker," Uwem Akpan's first collection, Say You're One of Them, comes with high expectations. Akpan, a Jesuit priest turned writer, grandly delivers. His stories of an impoverished Africa are bracing without being heavy-handed, and the strong audio narration might make you forget you're listening to someone reading a book.

From the horrors of the Rwandan genocide to a mother letting her son sniff glue in order to stave off hunger pangs on "Ex-mas" night, Akpan's themes are bleak. Yet his light touch and skillful presentation make the stories more engrossing than depressing. Part of this is due to Akpan's narrators, as each of the tales in this collection is seen through the eyes of a child. Without sentimentalizing his subjects, Akpan uses his young protagonists' naïveté to both deconstruct the lives of the adults and imbue his stories with hope. The results are daringly honest, energetic narratives.

Much has been made of Akpan's dialogue, which mixes French and English with pidgins and African languages like Idaatcha and Egun. Although the mélange of tongues can be difficult to navigate on the page, the audio version shines. Wire cast member Dion Graham and actor Robin Miles draw on African accents and rich impressions to render the dialogue at once foreign and comprehensible.

Say You're One of Them marks the powerful debut of a talented voice in contemporary fiction. One longs to see which side of Africa Akpan will explore next.