Say you're one of them

So I've just recently completed the book "Say you're one of them", written by Uwem Akpan.

Got to know about it from Sugarbelly, who says the author used to be her teacher.

For me, I try very hard to read Nigerian authors as I feel that it's what I need to jolt me back into my love for reading, especially when i've gone a long stretch without a good book. I did so with both Chimamanda's books and I never regretted it.

So I was rather excited about this new catch. The day after I read sugarbelly's post about "Say you're one of them", I went into waterstones and paid full price for it. Something I daresay Ive never really done, thanks to charity shops' cheap prices, WhSmith vouchers/offers and a sister who lives and breathes Amazon. So trust me, I felt very proud of myself and looked forward to more achievements like this.
I started the book on a train journey, which is a far cry from what my train journeys have been like in the last few months. Basically, I sleep on the train. I live quite far out in London and I love a little snooze in either a car or train. This is one thing I will miss when I get to naija. My eyes need to be wide open when I'm on public or non public transport. I don't want my bag or even my very self disappearing before my own eyes.

Anyways I started the book, with all excitement and anticipation of an exceptional journey.
It's a collection of short stories, each narrated by a different child, as each story is from a different country, all in Africa.
It tells of the struggles of children and their people in these troubled countries, Nigeria inclusive. The Nigerian story (the longest) revolved around the killings that took place when the Sharia laws were introduced in the north, whilst another story looks at Rwanda and the unrest between the Hutus and the Tutsis. Having seen Hotel Rwanda, I read that story like someone who has a fair knowledge of what that was all about. Plus being Nigerian and Muslim, I knew what the Nigerian story was all about as well.
For someone who was once a literature student, I embraced the book beyond it's theme and viewed it in respect to it's narrative style and structure.
I must say that it does an excellent job in giving the public a deeper view into the happenings in these countries, beyond what we see on the news or read on the Internet. It especially does so from the point of view of the most vulnerable parts of a nation's demographic; the children. When we see these things on the news, we never understand the intricacies of these occurrences, let alone their resulting effect on this part of the population.
On the other hand though, the book did drag a little, for me and took me almost 3 weeks to finish and that, doesnt happen very often. I found myself starting to skim read and when I do that, it means I'm bored. It was in no way boredom from the story, but more of style and a lot of things I considered to be irrelevant, especially in the Nigerian story, which unsurprisingly was the longest.
However, i will say that it's a good read, not great but good. It's pluses as I said are in regards to the theme that it chose, and the voices used. Its lows are mostly in consistency, fluidity, transition and relevance. These to some may not be considered important, but for me these play a huge role in my overall enjoyment of the book.
But still, I must say well done Mr Akpan. The book has been short and longlisted for prizes and that, is a great achievement.


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