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averydriver's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, and War
Minor: Police brutality
literarycrushes's review
3.0
New York, My Village is a novel centering around the complexities of homesickness and the difficult realities of its past. As part of a Toni Morrison Publishing Fellowship, Ekong Udousoro travels from his home in Nigeria to New York City to work on an anthology he’s editing on the “pass on trauma” of the horrific Biafran War (the Nigerian Civil War) that ravaged his home from 1967 – 1970 “on our diaspora children.” While he is excited about the opportunity, we immediately see that his journey will not be an easy one, as evidenced by the malicious treatment he and his fellow countrymen receive at the American visa center in Lagos, which turns him down twice before being forced to begrudgingly accept him. In New York, things must improve before they can get worse. Ever the optimist, Ekong sees the best in others, from his squirrely landlord to his varied cast of coworkers, though he runs into difficulty with his white & Asian-American neighbors, who may or may not be out to get him.
One area the book excelled in describing the subtle (& occasionally blatant) racism of the publishing industry – for example, in an editorial meeting discussing which books the small publishing house should buy, contrasting a powerful book on the horrors of race riots to that of a mediocre book by a well-known author who had recently been published in the New Yorker. “[I] thought about some of The New Yorker fiction online I had hated like s*ht. It was a magazine or growing noisy Nigerian literary tribe was killing each other to get into and bearing those who did eternal gratitude or grudge. Yet it was something our larger Nigerian society mistook for the New York Times, if noticing it at all.” While it was not a perfect book, as it was occasionally repetitive and fell flat in certain sections, I enjoyed it overall. Like all great fiction, I enjoyed how this book was able to place me in a mindset so different than my own (for example, one that raves about the ambiance of the Starbucks in Times Square).
One area the book excelled in describing the subtle (& occasionally blatant) racism of the publishing industry – for example, in an editorial meeting discussing which books the small publishing house should buy, contrasting a powerful book on the horrors of race riots to that of a mediocre book by a well-known author who had recently been published in the New Yorker. “[I] thought about some of The New Yorker fiction online I had hated like s*ht. It was a magazine or growing noisy Nigerian literary tribe was killing each other to get into and bearing those who did eternal gratitude or grudge. Yet it was something our larger Nigerian society mistook for the New York Times, if noticing it at all.” While it was not a perfect book, as it was occasionally repetitive and fell flat in certain sections, I enjoyed it overall. Like all great fiction, I enjoyed how this book was able to place me in a mindset so different than my own (for example, one that raves about the ambiance of the Starbucks in Times Square).
jmiles758's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Classism, and War
booksaremypeople's review
4.0
Ekong Udousoro is an editor living in Nigeria but has big plans to relocate. Having won a Toni Morrison Fellowship for Black Editors, he is heading to a publishing house to not only work, but also pursue his passion project, recording oral interviews of the Annang war victims. Leaving Nigeria and getting to America isn’t as easy as winning a fellowship. The people in charge of issuing visas are suspicious of Ekong’s project, flagging it as too political. This is a novel about immigration, being Black in America, the publishing industry and finding one’s tribe. This was a fascinating and compelling read. Akpan is a fantastic writer and I was completely absorbed in this story where I also learned a lot about the Biafran War. This will appeal to both literary readers and readers passionate about African history. Thank you to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for the advanced review copy.
alundeberg's review
3.0
During a recent visit to San Francisco's City Lights Bookstore, I asked my husband to pick out a book for me, and this is how I became in possession with Uwem Akpan's "New York, My Village". Lately I have been on a spate of reading books unlike any I have read before, and this fits right in. In it Ekong Udousoro, a Nigerian editor, gets the opportunity to come to New York and work with a publishing house as he edits a book about the Biafran War. His experience in America exposes him to all shades of racism and the relentless torture of bed bugs. Akpan weaves together the satirical absurdity of people's prejudices against the tragical background of trauma and war, but sometimes it was hard to know where the satire ended and the tragedy began. Sometimes I felt like I lost the plot, feeling like I missed something but not being sure what it was, even after rereading. Ultimately, I think Akpan was trying to prove too many points-- the insular and dysfunctional world of publishing, white people hosting diversity trainings for themselves, white people in general, the global racism and tribalism, the complexities of colonization and war and the generational trauma it engenders, subletting in NY, and the endless bed bugs-- so much about bed bugs. It did make me want to research the Biafran War, an event I know little about.
I think this book definitely has its readers, but it is not one I would recommend to everyone.
I think this book definitely has its readers, but it is not one I would recommend to everyone.
albertmckeon's review
1.0
Did not finish, regrettably. The satire was cute at first but then increasingly annoying. I had to stop.
chasingholden's review
4.0
Ekong Udousoro is attempting to curate stories about the Biafra War. He winds up landing a fellowship to work alongside an American publisher in Manhattan where he attends meetings and works amongst others reviewing possible future contracts.
New York, My Village seamlessly shifts between Ekong’s life in the present day to accounts of the war from his collection of stories and from his friends and family. It'd be nice to say that there were no similarities to be drawn between past and present but that simply isn't the case. We watch rampant racism happening amongst the well educated colleagues at the publishing house, which is the one place you would expect such a topic to be a non-issue. If racism is happening between members of a higher academic standing, what does that mean for every other place one has to go throughout their daily life.
Between the strong fluent prose and the metaphors woven through the story there is so much to gain from reading this book. Uwem Akpan has managed to write a book that you want to read, even while it's making you uncomfortable, and its a book that stays with you a makes you think, hopefully inspiring the reader to outrage and action to help society evolve past the hateful and wrong attitudes of too many of its members.
I cannot recommend this book enough. There is some potential for this book to go far and make a splash in our literary world and our hearts given enough people pick it up. It will certainly be worth your time.
Thank you to netgalley and publisher for an advance e-copy for my honest review. All opinions expressed here are my genuine reactions to reading this book.
New York, My Village seamlessly shifts between Ekong’s life in the present day to accounts of the war from his collection of stories and from his friends and family. It'd be nice to say that there were no similarities to be drawn between past and present but that simply isn't the case. We watch rampant racism happening amongst the well educated colleagues at the publishing house, which is the one place you would expect such a topic to be a non-issue. If racism is happening between members of a higher academic standing, what does that mean for every other place one has to go throughout their daily life.
Between the strong fluent prose and the metaphors woven through the story there is so much to gain from reading this book. Uwem Akpan has managed to write a book that you want to read, even while it's making you uncomfortable, and its a book that stays with you a makes you think, hopefully inspiring the reader to outrage and action to help society evolve past the hateful and wrong attitudes of too many of its members.
I cannot recommend this book enough. There is some potential for this book to go far and make a splash in our literary world and our hearts given enough people pick it up. It will certainly be worth your time.
Thank you to netgalley and publisher for an advance e-copy for my honest review. All opinions expressed here are my genuine reactions to reading this book.
raspberryvanguard's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Racial slurs, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, Xenophobia, and Racism