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The
2006 Award
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Graceland by Chris Abani
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Nominated by:
Publisher
of Nominated Edition
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| the complete A-Z listing of nominated authors |
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ABOUT
THE BOOK
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| In
this dazzling debut by a singular new talent, the sprawling, swampy, cacophonous
city of Lagos, Nigeria, provides the backdrop to the story of Elvis, a teenage
Elvis impersonator hoping to make his way out of the ghetto. Broke, beset
by floods, and beatings by his alcoholic father, and with no job opportunities
in sight, Elvis is tempted by a life of crime. Thus begins his odyssey into
the dangerous underworld of Lagos, guided by his friend Redemption and accompanied
by a restless hybrid of voices including The King of Beggars, Sunday, Innocent
and Comfort. Ultimately, young Elvis, drenched in reggae and jazz, and besotted
with American film heroes and images, must find his way to a GraceLand of
his own. Nuanced, lyrical, and pitch perfect, Graceland is a remarkable story of a son and his father, and an examination of postcolonial Nigeria where the trappings of American culture reign supreme. |
| ABOUT THE AUTHOR |
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Chris Abani's fiction and poetry has been widely anthologized. His latest book, Kalakuta Republic, is a collection of poetry based on his experience as a political prisoner in Nigeria, and received the PEN USA West Freedom-to-Write Award and the Prince Claus of the Netherlands Award. |
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