Graceland

"A richly detailed, poignant, and utterly fascinating look into another culture and how it is cross-pollinated by our own. It brings to mind the work of Ha Jin in its power and revelation of the new."--T. Coraghessan Boyle
The sprawling, swampy, cacophonous city of Lagos, Nigeria, provides the backdrop to the story of Elvis, a teenage Elvis impersonator hoping to make his way out of the ghetto. Nuanced, lyrical, and pitch perfect, this is a remarkable story of a son and his father, and an examination of postcolonial Nigeria, where the trappings of American culture reign supreme.
Chris Abani was born in Nigeria. At age sixteen he published his first novel, for which he suffered severe political persecution. Abani went into exile in 1991, and has since lived in England and the United States. His book "Daphne's Lot," a collection of poetry, won him a 2003 Lannan Literary Fellowship. He is also the recipient of the PEN USA West Freedom to Write Award and the Prince Claus Award. Abani now lives and teaches in Los Angeles. A "Los Angeles Times" Best Book of the YearWinner of the Hurston/Wright Legacy AwardShortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award Chris Abani's "GraceLand" is a dazzling debut by one of the most talented new voices to emerge from Africa. This gorgeously written and haunting novel is set in Maroko, a sprawling, swampy, crazy, and colorful ghetto of Lagos, Nigeria, and unfolds against a backdrop of lush reggae and highlife music, American movies, and a harsh urban existence. Elvis Oke, a teenage EIvis impersonator spurred on by the triumphs of heroes in the American movies and books he devours, pursues his chosen vocation with ardent single-mindedness. He suffers through hours of practice set to the tinny tunes emanating from the radio in the filthy shack he shares with his alcoholic father, his stepmother, and his step-siblings. He applies thick makeup that turns his black skin white, to make his performances more convincing for American tourists and hopefully net him dollars. But still he finds himself constantly broke. Beset by hopelessness and daunted by the squalor and violence of his daily life, he must finally abandon his dream. With job prospects few and far between, Elvis is tempted to a life of crime by the easy money his friend Redemption tells him is to be had in Lagos's underworld. But the King of the Beggars, Elvis's enigmatic yet faithful adviser, intercedes. And so, torn by the frustration of unrealizable dreams and accompanied by an eclectic chorus of voices, Elvis must find a way to a Graceland of his own making. Nuanced, lyrical, and pitch-perfect, "GraceLand" is the remarkable story of a son and his father, and an examination of postcolonial Nigeria, where the trappings of American culture reign supreme. A "Los Angeles"" Times" Best Book of the Year
""GraceLand"" "amply demonstrates that Abani has the energy, ambition, and compassion to create a novel that delineates and illuminates a complicated, dynamic, deeply fractured society."--Merle Rubin, "Los Angeles Times" ""GraceLand" teems with incident, from the seedy crime dens of Maroko to the family melodramas of the Oke clan. But throughout the novel's action, Abani--an accomplished poet who published his own first novel at Elvis's tender age of 16--keeps the reader's gaze fixed firmly on the detailed and contradictory cast of everyday Nigerian life. He shows how decades of authoritarian political rule breed indifference, and indeed weary fatalism, in the face of corruption and political terror, even while symbols of resistance such as the King of the Beggars become cultural heroes . . . Energetic and moving . . . Abani is] a fluid, closely observant writer."--Chris Lehmann, "The Washington Post"
""GraceLand "amply demonstrates that Abani has the energy, ambition, and compassion to create a novel that delineates and illuminates a complicated, dynamic, deeply fractured society."--Merle Rubin, "Los Angeles Times"
"Abani's Lagos is such an extraordinary place . . . This book works brilliantly in two ways. As a convincing and unpatronizing record of life in a poor Nigerian slum, and as a frighteningly honest insight into a world skewed by casual violence, it's wonderful . . . And for all the horrors, there are sweet scenes in GraceLand too, and they're a thousand times better for being entirely unsentimental . . . Original and] worthwhile."--Sophie Harrison, "The New York Times Book Review
"
"This is a coming of age novel - of an adolescent boy and a young and troubled country searching for direction. The teenage habits of swagger and posturing which both employ only serve to exacerbate their vulnerability. Nigeria is presented as a country rich in activity--its people are constantly talking, eating or moving; but also one steeped in casual violence, poverty and death. 'Life in Lagos is a gamble, ' says Elvis' best friend Redemption, and not everybody is cut out for survival. Nigerian writers have consistently defied intense persecution by the state to produce some startling work, and Chris Abani is no exception . . . Some of the most affecting episodes in Graceland are the descriptions of physical torture which rarely last for more than a paragraph, but which linger in the reader's memory. Abani is adamant that he is not just a product of these experiences and has repeatedly stressed in interviews that he is interested in the craft of writing, not just the impulses behind it . . . The verve of the writing is captivating. A novel on such a large scale, encompassing different decades and a host of characters . . . is at its best when describing vignettes of daily life, which are affectionate and funny, the struggle of a boy and a country full of contradictions."--Elaine Moore, "Africa Policy Journal" "Striking . . . Set against the terrible Nigerian political realities of the 1970s and '80s, "GraceLand" marks the debut of a writer with something important to say . . .