From Publishers WeeklyAbani's debut novel offers a searing chronicle of a young man's coming of age in Nigeria during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The vulnerable, wide-eyed protagonist is Elvis Oke, a young Nigerian with a penchant for dancing and impersonating the American rock-and-roll singer he is named after. The story alternates between Elvis's early years in the 1970s, when his mother dies of cancer and leaves him with a disapproving father, and his life as a teenager in the Lago ghetto, a place one character calls "a pus-ridden eyesore on de face of de nation's capital." Relating how an innocent child grows into a hardened young man, the novel also gives a glimpse into a world foreign to most readers-a brutal Third World country permeated by the excesses and wonders of American popular culture. Sprinkled throughout the book are recipes and entries from Elvis's mother's journal, as well as descriptions of the kola nut ceremony through which an Igbo boy becomes a man. These sections at first seem showy and tacked on, but by the end of the book their significance becomes clearer. The book is most powerful when it refrains from polemic and didacticism and simply follows its protagonist on his daily journey through the violent, harsh Nigerian landscape. Elvis must also negotiate troubles closer to home, including a drunk and ruined father and friends who cannot always be trusted. In this book, names are destiny, "selected with care by your family and given to you as a talisman." One of Elvis's friends is named Redemption, but in the end it is Elvis who claims this moniker, both literally and symbolically. Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.From BooklistElvis Oke, a teenage Elvis impersonator in Lagos, Nigeria, attempts to come of age in spite of an alcoholic father who beats him and a soul-crushing ghetto environment that threatens to engulf him. Beset by floods, vermin, and the ubiquitous Colonel, chief of military security in Lagos, Elvis lives from day to day, saturated by a bizarrely out of date, misunderstood version of American pop culture and remembering his life in the country before his mother died and his father lost his career. Immigration to the U.S. is Elvis' dream, shared by his underworld friend, Redemption, although their notion of America comes mainly from untranslated, decades-old movies, all of which are interpreted only in terms of the conflict between John Wayne (all good guys) and Actor (everyone else). The novel offers a vibrant picture of an alien yet somehow parallel culture, and while the plot runs off the rails from time to time, the mix of surrealistic horror and cross-cultural humor is irresistible. Abani is a first novelist with a very bright future. Bill OttCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved Extraordinary...This book works brilliantly in two ways. As a convincing and un-patronizing record of life in a poor Nigerian slum, and as a frighteningly honest insight into a world skewed by casual violence, it's wonderful...And for all the horrors, there are sweet scenes in Graceland too, and they're a thousand times better for being entirely unsentimental...Lovely. The New York Times Book "Abani's intensely visual style--and his sense of humor--convert the stuff of hopelessness into the stuff of hope. San Francisco ChronicleTo say that this is a Nigerian or African novel is to miss the point. This absolutely beautiful work of fiction is about complex strained political structures, the irony of the West being a measure of civilization, and the tricky business of being a son. Abani's language is beautiful and his story is important. Percival EverettGraceland is a grotesque, painfully hilarious look at the dark underground world of Lagos Nigeria, and it brings back vivid memories of an urban culture seemingly always on the verge of a complete societal breakdown. Chris Abani's riveting novel is an unrelenting focus on blight, squalor, savagery, and violence. It is a superbly written, structurally fascinating work and I found myself captivated by the hilarity of some of the scenes, often as I found myself on the verge of tears. It is a stunning debut by an immensely talented writer. Quincy Troupe, author of Transcircularity, Miles: The Autobiography and Miles and Me Chris Abani's Graceland is a richly detailed, poignant and utterly fascinating look into another culture and how it is cross-pollinated by our own. It brings to mind the work of Ha Jin in its power and revelation of the new. T.C. Boyle, author of Drop City"cival Everett what is the best website for book reviews Graceland (Today Show Pick January 2005)
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The Wide World of GraceLandBy JPowersChris Abani's GraceLand is the story of sixteen-year-old Elvis, a Nigerian teenager living in Lagos in 1983 who wants nothing more than to be an Elvis Presley impersonator. That summary alone is what got me to pick up Abani's novel, but what is even more impressive than Elvis's characterization is the cultural and worldly scope in which Abani crafts Elvis's story. While the novel maintains a close third-person perspective on Elvis, Abani uses an omniscient narrative voice that can sneak its way into the minds of even the most peripheral characters. In this way, Abani tells the story of a country through the story of one of its children; even though his hopes and dreams may be out of the ordinary, they are - at their basest level - the hopes and dreams of a country.The non-chronological story telling method Abani utilizes functions as a spiral. I like to picture a conch shell while thinking of the novel now, the winding walls becoming narrower and narrower as the story closes in on itself. The dramatic presence takes place in Lagos in 1983, after Elvis and his estranged father, Sunday, have moved from their small village into Maroko, a Lagos slum. Every alternating chapter brings us back into the past, starting with Elvis as a five-year-old little boy and moving all the way up to his present so that both times eventually meet, in an almost seamless fashion. Within these time shifts, Abani also includes excerpts from Elvis's mother's diary - recipes for traditional Nigerian dishes and identifications of different plants and roots that can be used to cure maladies. Along with these recipes is the history of the kola nut ritual, an ancient tradition rite that allows a family to see what kind of adults their children will become. By including both familial artifacts and cultural lore, Abani widens the scope of Elvis's story so much so that Nigeria becomes more of the protagonist, rather than Elvis.The wide cast of characters surrounding Elvis is a strong showing of both characterization and storytelling. The two most memorable are Sunday, and Elvis's close friend, Redemption. Abani could have created Sunday in the clichd vein of abusive fathers, but he does not; rather, Abani gives Sunday humanity, and in doing so, makes him all the more tragic. There is a quiet scene where Elvis realizes he has called Sunday "Dad" for the first time. This recognition is heartbreaking in both Elvis's realization of this fact and in his father's resignation to his failure as a parent. The end to Sunday's story, then, carries even more weight than it would have without that small, little scene.Redemption is a firecracker of a character, bringing energy into every scene he occupies. He is akin to those characters in movies or on certain television shows that, even though they may not be main characters, take over every scene that they are in. He is the force that pushes Elvis into new and dangerous situations, and he is also one of the only characters that never truly leaves Elvis behind. He is a stunning creation, and I greatly admire Abani's drawing of him as a character.I have two complaints regarding GraceLand. One is where the female characters are concerned. While Elvis is surrounded by strong women in his past - his mother, his grandmother, and his aunt, among others - they disappear as his journey progresses. I felt a bit cheated, like the male characters were more developed and the female characters functioned as sources of tragedy or of frustration. I would have liked to see Abani do more with them. The other complaint I have is the novel's length. While it is a sweeping, dramatic story, I truly believe Abani could have told just as powerful a story in a novel that has a hundred less pages.GraceLand is original, emotional, and visceral. It is a portrayal of a boy forced to grow up too fast, and of a country forced into turmoil, violence, and hope.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. ExcellentBy CustomerFirst of all, I may have a clue as to what made the novel notable, but the lack of any closure still bothers me. It's a fact of life, I get it, but that was the whole point of reading fiction, which is to ignore the fact that there is no closure to the tragedies or horror i was exposed to.I read the novel with false hopes all the way to the end, and the ending was my punishment for it. Pretty good novel, though.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Read for Class and I still Love it!By CustomerThe main character: Elvis tries to make his way in Nigeria. He has been named after an American entertainer who he tries to imitate meanwhile he fights with his father, the failed politician Sunday, and has to cope with his father's new wife comfort. There is action as Elvis must flee what he knows after a shady deal comes apart.The story bounces back and forth between the character's present and past and I really found it to be a page turner; and despite it being an assigned book I loved it! Well worth the read.