Graceland by Chris Abani was an excellent book, good pace, excellent detail, and wonderfully full characters.
Elvis, the main character, stays true to the themes of a lot of African literature, forming some of his most salient relations with the women in his life. A maturation story of sorts—a maturation nearly truncated by the corrupt and desolate political, social and economic environments of Lagos.
The tension between rural, "traditional" Igbo cultural and the urban Lagos is another common theme in African literature and thankfully Abani is not overly sentimental, managing to show the differences without romanticizing the rural.
Abani had fun with character names: Redemption, his best friend, Comfort, his stepmother, Innocent, his cousin, they are all ironic and apt, taking their roles in Elvis’s life.
The whole organ-harvesting thing was rather sensationalist-- and it made Lagos seem like the worst city in the world, but, as the author points out, Lagos has the highest population of both billionaires and paupers.
Read it and let me know what you think. ( )

This novel gives the reader many details about life in Nigeria, particularly the capital Lagos, in the late 20th century. Protagonist Elvis lives an urban life that is by turns bountiful, busy, squalid, dangerous, and mundane. Each chapter includes some aspect of the Ibo or related African language and a recipe including serving suggestions. Elvis maintains an uneasy relationship with his father. He reveres the memory of his deceased mother. Elvis keeps strongs relationships with several of the women and girls in his family. His best friend is a neer-do-well survivor interestingly named Redemption.
the novel ends fantastically. It seemed to me that the author stretched to include some of the material covered in the novel. Many compelling scenes.
Note: the audiobook, as read by author Chris Abani, starts slowly. The author seems to have little interest in his characters and story at first. The reading becomes more nuanced at the story progresses. ( )

GraceLand follows the exploits of a young boy named Elvis as he makes his daily way through the slums of Lagos, Nigeria. The story of his and his family's earlier years in a small town are also told through flashback. The storytelling here is very good, indeed. The scenes of street life and the lives and attitudes of characters we meet are rendered compellingly. There is more than a touch of Huck Finn in this book, although the violence and poverty are more starkly portrayed. If the protagonist is just a touch too clever and erudite to be believed for his age and social station, well, that is a small flaw, in the overall scheme of things, that is easily forgiven. I highly recommend this book. ( )