Say You're One of ThemSay You're One of Them

Uwem Akpan's stunning stories humanize the perils of poverty and violence so piercingly that few readers will feel they've ever encountered Africa so immediately.

The eight-year-old narrator of "An Ex-Mas Feast" needs only enough money to buy books and pay fees in order to attend school. Even when his twelve-year-old sister takes to the streets to raise these meager funds, his dream can't be granted. Food comes first.

In another narrative, Akpan takes us far beyond what we thought we knew about the tribal conflict in Rwanda. Told by a young girl, who, with her little brother, witnesses the worst possible scenario between parents, who are asked to do the previously unimaginable in order to protect their children.