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Say You're One of Them Uwem Akpan Books

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Say You're One of Them Uwem Akpan Books

We’ve all tsk-tsked over the headlines about ethnic and religious slaughter in many African countries. In “Say You’re One of Them,” a Jesuit priest named Uwen Akpan personalizes the violence in a series of hard-hitting, fast-moving stories that make us understand it in a new, visceral way. Akpan focuses on the damage done to children in particular, relating atrocities through their tragically limited understanding. In Akpan’s telling, children are chronically trapped, not only figuratively in the adult world’s inhumanity, but also literally in a small space where terror mounts to the breaking point.

In the title story, set in Rwanda in 1994 when members of the Hutu ethnic group killed up to a million rival Tutsis, a child cowers in a home while machete-wielding mobs rampage outside and refugees stuff themselves in a tiny loft above. There is no escape, particularly since the parents are from different groups, so there will be blood.

In “Luxurious Hearses,” the religious violence that is endemic in Nigeria is compressed into a bus filled with escapees seeking refuge. A young man who has procured a precious ticket to ride to his one-time home must conceal his Muslim identity from the Christians on the bus—hard to do since he lacks his right hand, a sure sign that he is Muslim, and a thief at that. Akpan unforgettably conveys the madness that erupts in this confined space as the bus hurtles to hell.

Child trafficking in West Africa is the background of “Fattening for Gabon,” in which a brother and sister are imprisoned by a seemingly friendly uncle and his gang. The boy’s attempts to save his sister and himself can only lead to violence.

“Say You’re One of Them” is no “Flame Trees of Thika” or even “The Green Hills of Africa.” It’s a classic expose of what happens when civil society is just an easily abandoned pretense.


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Say You're One of Them Uwem Akpan Books Reviews

In five short stories, all set in different parts of Africa, Akpan, an African Jesuit priest educated in America, shows us life through the eyes of African children. In “An Ex-mas Feast,” Akpan pours out Nairobian poverty on the page so vividly that it takes a reader’s breath away. In “In My Parents’ Bedroom,” he shows us a loving, educated, enlightened Rwandan family ripped apart by tribalism. In “Luxurious Hearses,” he narrates the ultimate sacrifice of a teenage boy to the bloodlust of people running for their lives in western Africa.

It’s a difficult book to read. Because of the content, sometimes continuing to turn the pages is an effort. And because Akpan sprinkles the stories generously with the mélange of languages spoken in Africa, parsing the meaning of what people are saying can be hard too. But on those difficult-to-turn-and-understand pages, Akpan always splashes a generous measure of the best of humanity love, loyalty, responsibility, empathy, self-sacrifice, and faith.

In these stories of children’s lives, general themes emerge the variety of religions and languages in Africa, the power of faith, the role of the media, the relationship between men and women, the struggle of families to stay together, the driving force of the sex trade, the relentless force of tribalism, and always the plight of the children.

Someone in my bookclub described the book as “beautifully written and utterly heartbreaking” – as the kind of book a person can’t just read. Afterward, there’s the need to do something.
While giving this book 5 stars, it implies that "I love it". But I'm not sure that's the correct description to give a book written from the view point of children caught in the crossfires of wars, poverty, and desperation. At times, it was a depressing read and very sad. It's a work of fiction, but you know that somewhere, there are children (and adults) who've experienced similar horror. And at this moment, the horrors are continuing somewhere in the world The kidnapped Nigerian school girls come to mind, as well as the children and families dodging bombs and bullets in Gaza, Syria, and in the Ukraine. And somewhere, people are in fear of death just because they are Muslim or Christian, or that they belong to the "wrong" group. So regarding the book, I don't feel right saying that "I love it"...

...but I give it 5 stars because Mr. Akpan had the courage to write it, and write it so painfully well as he describes the horrors that the children and their families face. The story and words are authentic; there's no sugar coating, or lessening of the harsh realities. He reminds us that the image of childhood as most of us feel it should be...and as our kids experience it...is no where near the same reality for countless many children. This book is a chilling glimpse of that other world that is very, very real that we cannot ignore or look away from. We must continue to work together as nations to make the world better for us all!
We’ve all tsk-tsked over the headlines about ethnic and religious slaughter in many African countries. In “Say You’re One of Them,” a Jesuit priest named Uwen Akpan personalizes the violence in a series of hard-hitting, fast-moving stories that make us understand it in a new, visceral way. Akpan focuses on the damage done to children in particular, relating atrocities through their tragically limited understanding. In Akpan’s telling, children are chronically trapped, not only figuratively in the adult world’s inhumanity, but also literally in a small space where terror mounts to the breaking point.

In the title story, set in Rwanda in 1994 when members of the Hutu ethnic group killed up to a million rival Tutsis, a child cowers in a home while machete-wielding mobs rampage outside and refugees stuff themselves in a tiny loft above. There is no escape, particularly since the parents are from different groups, so there will be blood.

In “Luxurious Hearses,” the religious violence that is endemic in Nigeria is compressed into a bus filled with escapees seeking refuge. A young man who has procured a precious ticket to ride to his one-time home must conceal his Muslim identity from the Christians on the bus—hard to do since he lacks his right hand, a sure sign that he is Muslim, and a thief at that. Akpan unforgettably conveys the madness that erupts in this confined space as the bus hurtles to hell.

Child trafficking in West Africa is the background of “Fattening for Gabon,” in which a brother and sister are imprisoned by a seemingly friendly uncle and his gang. The boy’s attempts to save his sister and himself can only lead to violence.

“Say You’re One of Them” is no “Flame Trees of Thika” or even “The Green Hills of Africa.” It’s a classic expose of what happens when civil society is just an easily abandoned pretense.