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A Life Elsewhere
An impressive debut collection of 17 short stories from the winner of the 2005 Caine Prize for African Writing
For the characters in Segun Afolabi's debut collection, "elsewhere" is a place they must transform into home. The Far East, Europe, the Americas, Africa—the stories are as varied as their geographical settings. In the award-winning "Monday Morning" a refugee boy puzzles out his place in a new land. A bereaved father in "Arithmetic" thinks back to a confusing, youthful sexual encounter that has left him emotionally scarred; Jacinta faces a long retirement with a husband she is not sure she likes in "Jumbo and Jacinta" and "The Wine Guitar" tells the story of an aging musician who pays a prostitute for the gift of her youth. These are tales of Diaspora, of people making their lives in new lands, some for the first time, others in the second or third generations. Often moving, sometimes funny, and occasionally shocking, Afolabi's stories reflect the way we live now; exploring the universal need to establish family and identity in a world where the boundaries of geography, culture, and language are increasingly fluid. Afolabi's elegantly restrained prose and his fascination with the internal emotional lives of his characters—the often painful negotiation of relationships and navigation of life's uncertainties—mark him as a highly original and engaging new literary voice.
For the characters in Segun Afolabi's debut collection, "elsewhere" is a place they must transform into home. The Far East, Europe, the Americas, Africa—the stories are as varied as their geographical settings. In the award-winning "Monday Morning" a refugee boy puzzles out his place in a new land. A bereaved father in "Arithmetic" thinks back to a confusing, youthful sexual encounter that has left him emotionally scarred; Jacinta faces a long retirement with a husband she is not sure she likes in "Jumbo and Jacinta" and "The Wine Guitar" tells the story of an aging musician who pays a prostitute for the gift of her youth. These are tales of Diaspora, of people making their lives in new lands, some for the first time, others in the second or third generations. Often moving, sometimes funny, and occasionally shocking, Afolabi's stories reflect the way we live now; exploring the universal need to establish family and identity in a world where the boundaries of geography, culture, and language are increasingly fluid. Afolabi's elegantly restrained prose and his fascination with the internal emotional lives of his characters—the often painful negotiation of relationships and navigation of life's uncertainties—mark him as a highly original and engaging new literary voice.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 1, 2016
A collection of evocative stories, broadly themed around themes of migration and displacement.
The book presents snapshots from the lives of people who are in flux, either physically or psychologically. Most characters are living far from their places of birth; many at points of crisis; migration may or may not be directly relevant to their plight.
Stories include the award-winning "Monday Morning", about a small boy struggling to cope in a new country; one of my favourites is "Something In The Water" in which a man makes an unhappy return to his homeland.
There is much family discord, relationship distress and sexual dysfunction here. The story-telling is slick and subtle; and the focus on middle-class Black Britons is refreshing.
Short, sharp insights into the untidy lives of others - highly recommended.
The book presents snapshots from the lives of people who are in flux, either physically or psychologically. Most characters are living far from their places of birth; many at points of crisis; migration may or may not be directly relevant to their plight.
Stories include the award-winning "Monday Morning", about a small boy struggling to cope in a new country; one of my favourites is "Something In The Water" in which a man makes an unhappy return to his homeland.
There is much family discord, relationship distress and sexual dysfunction here. The story-telling is slick and subtle; and the focus on middle-class Black Britons is refreshing.
Short, sharp insights into the untidy lives of others - highly recommended.
December 25, 2015
Wow... I need some time to gather my thoughts. I've forgotten how good it feels to pick up a book I know nothing about and then be blown away!
December 9, 2021
Awkwardness runs through all of these stories. There's the awkwardness of being displaced, of living "a life elsewhere." There's also the awkwardness that can persist or even grow within families and couples. There's more than just awkwardness about the racism that lives in our world.
What Afolabi does well is to put us right inside the skin of people who feel displaced, uncertain of where home really is. Disconnected from their roots, from people around them, and often from themselves. This is, after all, the experience of hundreds of millions of people around the globe.
And there's awkwardness in the writing which perhaps goes beyond all the awkwardness the author intentionally describes. There were times when I wished he would just say what he had to say - the author's hesitancy is apt for the topic and I found it exhausting.
Probably my favourite story is "Something in the water" in which a man goes back his birthplace in Kano, Nigeria but constantly feels uncomfortable and longs for the cool damp quiet of his adopted home in England. Where is really home? Afolabi brings to life the warm richness of Nigeria, the endless adaptability of people inured to being let down and still able to find joy. His US-born wife is able to enthuse about Nigeria, but somehow the Nigerian-born man can't either enjoy it as a tourist or as a return to his birthplace. For me this really carries the core message of A Life Elsewhere.
What Afolabi does well is to put us right inside the skin of people who feel displaced, uncertain of where home really is. Disconnected from their roots, from people around them, and often from themselves. This is, after all, the experience of hundreds of millions of people around the globe.
And there's awkwardness in the writing which perhaps goes beyond all the awkwardness the author intentionally describes. There were times when I wished he would just say what he had to say - the author's hesitancy is apt for the topic and I found it exhausting.
Probably my favourite story is "Something in the water" in which a man goes back his birthplace in Kano, Nigeria but constantly feels uncomfortable and longs for the cool damp quiet of his adopted home in England. Where is really home? Afolabi brings to life the warm richness of Nigeria, the endless adaptability of people inured to being let down and still able to find joy. His US-born wife is able to enthuse about Nigeria, but somehow the Nigerian-born man can't either enjoy it as a tourist or as a return to his birthplace. For me this really carries the core message of A Life Elsewhere.
September 2, 2024
I love stories that don't leave the reader confused.
Every short story in this book felt like reading a textbook....sigh!
Every short story in this book felt like reading a textbook....sigh!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews