| Graceland (Today Show Pick January 2005) |  | Author: Chris Abani
Publisher: Picador
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $0.78
as of 3/16/2010 17:20 EDT details
You Save: $14.22 (95%)
In Stock
New (43) Used (82) from $0.78
Seller: owlsbooks
Rating:  45 reviews
Sales Rank: 88,806
Media: Paperback
Edition: Today Show Book Club
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.4 x 1
ISBN: 0312425287
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780312425289
ASIN: 0312425287
Publication Date: January 26, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Tell A Friend
Add to Wishlist
Add to Wedding Registry
Add to Baby Registry
| |
| Features:
| | ISBN13: 9780312425289 | | | Condition: NEW | | | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
"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.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 45
 A beautiful book that needs an audience April 21, 2004
BookLover
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book was quite a moving, magical experience for me. I was first drawn by just the cover (which is funny considering we're not supposed to judge books by covers yet I almost always am drawn to striking covers and then the contents). When I read the jacket, I thought of the recent Brazilian film CITY OF GODS. Well, I thought Chris Abani's book had far more humanity, and far more hope. The ending is sublime, and very emotional. The book is rather sprawling, detailing the life of young Elvis Okwe. His struggles to do the right thing are incredibly intense and heartbreaking. He really wants to be a good person, a good man, and its often things that are out of his hands that prevent him from doing that. All of the characters are well-drawn and unconventional, without ever being stereotypical, especially Elvis's father, who you think is just abusive and distant, but is really a tragic, complicated man, torn apart by the love of his country. GRACELAND encompasses many themes, but most importantly, it is about "redemption," not just for Elvis but for the country that Mr. Abani clearly loves. I loved this book and I hope it finds its audience.
So good! April 27, 2006
Lila Ahronowitz (Davis, CA, USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Let me start by saying that this book was so good, so interesting and provoking both intellectually and emotionally. It follows a sixteen year-old boy named Elvis in Lagos, Nigeria, as he pursues various paths, from an idealistic dancer to a criminal to a prisoner of war, to his ultimate choice, where we see him as a more mature and independent young man.
What makes this novel so important is its function as a virtual tour of the actual hardships plaguing Nigeria, as seen through the innocent eyes of the main character. I think Elvis's naivete, offset by a tragic personal history, reflects the simplistic view of highly developed and morally righteous countries - especially America. As the reader (and Elvis) encounters poverty, classism, beggars being burned alive, civil war, torture, cannibalism, and government cruelty, our innocence is stripped away.
The struggles are counterposed, though, throughout the book with moments of hope, of kindness, of people working together to overcome unfairness and stand up for their rights. The book definitely evokes respect and optimism for the strength of the characters, and ends in a positive light, although it seems almost counterintuitive...
From the globally symbolic names to the glimpses of native Igbo culture, Graceland had me reflecting on the relationships between countries, particularly between America and the rest of the world, and universal mechanisms of hope in places of extreme hardship.
The writing style was reminiscent of a combination between Russell Banks's Rule of the Bone and Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things [thank you, Oakwood!]. The meaningful names, as well as the combination of clashing cultures and classes and the narrative of the adolescent trying to navigate them, put me right in mind of Rule of the Bone. And in the back-and-forth of time settings, the familial anguish, and the disastrous results of government dictatorship on lower-class society, the book echoed some themes of The God of Small Things.
All in all, this book was an excellent, meaningful read, a great fictional piece addressing factual problems, solutions, and attitudes.
Living on the brink of chaos November 15, 2005
Olujide Ige (Riverside, CA USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book pierces into the heart, and affords a glimpse of, the organized, orchestrated confusion that was Nigeria at the tail end of the 20th century. As long as one is ignorant of the epic story Chris Abani attempts to deflesh into 320 spare pages, it is possible to critique it on superficial things such as character development, style of writing, etc., only.
Music is the background, the rhythm to which Nigeria pulsates. It has to be experienced to be understood. It is a unique, almost spiritual thing and entirely appropriate that the author does his best to capture it.
Who grew up in Nigeria and didn't have a friend like Redemption? Every neighborhood had it's own 'King of de Beggars' forever holding forth on history, sociology, politics, you name it. Reading Dostoevsky in the grimiest of slums with no running water or electricity and raw sewage snaking across the dirt roads is quintessentially Nigerian, that black hole of human potential.
Nigeria's Cultural Confusion September 7, 2005
Meredith
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Graceland is an enlightening yet very disturbing look into the poverty-stricken and corrupt nation of Nigeria. Although this book is a coming-of-age story, it also displays a culture besieged by American influence and internal discontent. Abani's choice to name the main character Elvis is particularly interesting since the reference to an American pop culture icon contrasts with the other metaphorical names like Redemption and Comfort. He is cloaked in a culture to which he doesn't truly belong and is alienated in a manner reminiscent of Ralph Ellison's nameless invisible man. Descriptions of the elaborate and vital kola nut ceremony are spaced throughout the book in a way that implies how deeply embedded such rituals are in Igbo people despite the background of American runoff; Nigeria has a society of multiple layers. Abani displays the curious intermingling of these two contrasting cultures very well.
The book was very well-written and the format made it particularly realistic. It is not chronologically organized, but the date preceding each section prevents confusion. This format, with excerpts from his mother's journal and descriptions of the kola nut ceremony mixed in, makes it easier to understand Elvis' perspective; details about his earlier life and Nigerian culture provide a context in which the story is set. The only problem I felt there was with the book was I felt Elvis could have been more emotionally developed. We see him undergo incredibly traumatic events (he has to deal with a drunken failure of a father and the memory of a mother who died of cancer when he was very young in the midst of intense poverty and the widespread crime that inevitably accompanies it), but it would have been interesting to read about the mental repercussions in more detail and perhaps with more nuance; his emotions seem a bit too straightforward. I felt myself more fascinated with the lesser characters because they are more dynamic and have greater depth. The aptly named Redemption is particularly interesting because he initally appears to be Elvis' downfall, but ultimately is his savior.
Well-written, sad and hard to put down March 17, 2004
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I read a review of this book in the local paper and decided to read it. Once again I was lucky to get hold of a book that I couldn't wait to finish. I've never even heard of the author but he shows great promise. There are scenes in the book that made me laugh, feel dread and set my teeth on edge. It must put a writer's teeth on edge to set such thoughts down on paper but to me this is what good writing is about. Having had a few years of contact with this particular culture, I could understand most of the things the author referred to and knew what some of the recipes tasted like, like moi moi, fufu and bitter leaf soup. The part about organ donors is true and can be verified by reading "Princess" or its next sequel, "Daughters of Arabia", I forget which. This must stop..but anyway this book would make a great movie. I totally recommend it.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 45
| In Stock
|
|
|
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. |
| |
