“It is to be hoped that Mr. Abani’s fine book finds its proper place in the world … [Abani’s] perception of the world is beyond or outside the common categories of contemporary fiction and he is able to describe what he perceives compellingly and effectively … [Abani captures] the awful, mysterious refusal of life’s discrete pieces to fit.”
—New York Sun
“An intensely vivid portrait of Nigeria that switches deftly between rural and urban life.”
—Boston Globe
“Singular … Abani has created a charming and complex character, at once pragmatic and philosophical about his lot in life … [and] observes the chaotic tapestry of life in postcolonial Africa with the unjudging eye of a naïve boy.”
—Philadelphia Inquirer
“Abani masterfully gives us a young man who is simultaneously brave, heartless, bright, foolish, lustful, and sadly resigned to fate. In short, a perfectly drawn adolescent … Abani’s ear for dialogue and eye for observation lend a lyrical air … In depicting how deeply external politics can affect internal thinking, GraceLand announces itself as a worthy heir to Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Like that classic of Nigerian literature, it gives a multifaceted, human face to a culture struggling to find its own identity while living with somebody else’s.”
—Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“GraceLand is an invaluable document.”
—San Diego Union-Tribune
“Remarkable … Chris Abani’s striking new novel, GraceLand, wins the reader with its concept—an Elvis impersonator in Nigeria—and keeps him with strong storytelling and characterization … GraceLand marks the debut of a writer with something important to say.”
—New Orleans Times-Picayune
“GraceLand paints an often horrific and sometimes profound portrait … Though a work of fiction, GraceLand also serves as a history far more powerful and fantastic than any official account of Nigeria’s teetering progress toward democracy.”
—Seattle Weekly
“The book’s juxtaposition between innocence and bleak survival is heartrending … Sharp, graphic, and impossible to dismiss.”
—Seattle Times
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to real events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Published by Akashic Books
©2006 Chris Abani
ePUB ISBN-13: 978-1-936070-46-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-933354-31-6
ISBN-10: 1-933354-31-3
Library of Congress Control Number: TK
All rights reserved
Akashic Books
PO Box 1456
New York, NY 10009
Contents
Title Page
Silence Is a Steady Hand, Palm Flat
Night Is a Palm Pulled Down over the Eyes
Death Is Two Fingers Sliding across the Throat
Memory Is a Pattern Cut into an Arm
Imagination Is a Forefinger between the Eyes
Dawn Is Two Hands Parting before the Face
A Funnel Is Fingertips Steepled, Palms Apart
Danger Is a Deeper Silence
Love Is a Backhanded Stroke to the Cheek
Listening Is a Hand Cupping an Ear like a Seashell
Fish Is a Hand Swimming through the Air
The Soul Has No Sign
Ghosts Are a Gentle Breath over Moving Fingers
Truth Is Forefinger to Tongue Raised Skyward
Mercy Is a Palm Turning Out from the Heart
Dreaming Is Hands Held in Prayer over the Nose
Town Is Hands Making Boxes in the Air
A Thumb in the Air, Clicking an Imaginary Lighter
Child’s Play
A Hand Held like a Pistol
River Is a Flat Snake
Shelter Is Hands Protecting the Head
Music Is Any Dance You Can Pull Off
Roll Call Is Fingers Counting off a Palm
Fingers Pinching a Nose Is a Bad Smell
Dirty Is a Scrunched-up Face and a Palm Waving
Cowardice Is Spitting Once
A Question Is a Palm Turning Out from an Ear
Vision Is the Same As Dreaming
A Train Is Forearms Back and Forth Like Pistons
Light Is Jazz Hands and a Smile
Mother Is Crossed Arms Rocking a Baby
Rest Is a Chin Held in a Palm
Fear Is an Open Hand Beating over the Heart
Will Is an Emphatic Finger Pointing
Home Is a Palm Fisted to the Heart
Acknowledgments
Also by Chris Abani
Novels
Masters of the Board
GraceLand
The Virgin of Flames
Novellas
Becoming Abigail
Poetry
Kalakuta Republic
Daphne’s Lot
Dog Woman
Hands Washing Water
Of course, for Sarah
And my nephews—Ikenna, Obinna,
Chuks, Craig, Carl,