Happiness, Like Water by Chinelo Okparanta
Astonishing. Okparanta s narrators render their stories with such strength and intimacy, such lucidity and composure, that in each and every case the truths of their lives detonate deep inside the reader s heart, with the power and force of revelation. Paul HardingHere are Nigerian women at home and transplanted to the United States, building lives out of longing and hope, faith and doubt, the struggle to stay and the mandate to leave, the burden and strength of love. Here are characters faced with dangerous decisions, children slick with oil from the river, a woman in love with another despite the penalties. Here is a world marked by electricity outages, lush landscapes, folktales, buses that break down and never start up again. Here is a portrait of Nigerians that is surprising, shocking, heartrending, loving, and across social strata, dealing in every kind of change. Here are stories filled with language to make your eyes pause and your throat catch. Happiness, Like Water introduces a true talent, a young writer with a beautiful heart and a capacious imagination.
Intricate, graceful prose propels Okparanta s profoundly moving and illuminating book. I devoured these stories and immediately wanted more. This is an arrival. NoViolet Bulawayo
Okparanta's prose is tender, beautiful and evocative. These powerful stories of contemporary Nigeria are told with compassion and a certain sense of humor. What a remarkable new talent. Chika Unigwe
A haunting and startlingly original collection of short stories about the lives of Nigerians both at home and in America. Happiness, Like Water is a deeply affecting literary debut, the work of a sure and gifted new writer. Julie Otsuka
Okparanta, Chinelo: - CHINELO OKPARANTA was born and raised in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Her debut short story collection, Happiness, Like Water, was nominated for the Nigerian Writers Award, long-listed for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, and was a finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, as well as the Etisalat Prize for Literature. Her first novel, Under the Udala Trees, was nominated for numerous awards, including the Kirkus Prize and Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and was a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice. She has published work in The New Yorker, Granta, Tin House, the Kenyon Review, AGNI, and other venues, and was named one of Granta's Best of Young American Novelists. She received her MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and she is currently Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing at Swarthmore College.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780544003453 |
| ISBN 10 | 0544003454 |
| Title | Happiness, Like Water |
| Author | Chinelo Okparanta |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Mariner Books |
| Year published | 2013-08-13 |
| Number of pages | 208 |
| Prizes | Winner of Lambda Literary Awards (Lesbian Fiction) 2014, Commended for Society of Midland Authors Award (Adult Fiction) 2014 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |