Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan: Questions, plus a reading group guide, with links to reviews, excerpt, author interview and author biography at BookBrowse.com.
Say You're One of Them
by Uwem Akpan
Hardcover: Jun 2008,
368 pages.
Paperback: Jul 2009,
384 pages.
Please be aware that this discussion guide may contain spoilers!
Each of the stories in Say You're One of Them is told from the
perspective of a child. Do you think this affected your reaction? If the
narrators had been adults, might you have felt differently about the
stories? Why do you think Akpan chose to depict these events through
children's eyes? How do Akpan's young characters maintain innocence in the
face of corruption and pain?
In "An Ex-mas Feast," Maisha leaves her family to become a full- time
prostitute. Do you think she chose to depart, or did her family's poverty
force her to flee? Is it possible to have complete freedom of will in such a
situation? Is it reasonable to judge a person for her actions if her choice
is not entirely her own?
In "Fattening for Gabon" the children's uncle and caretaker, Fofo Kpee,
sells them into slavery. How does Fofo's poverty and vanity contribute to
his unthinkable actions? Do his pangs of conscience redeem him for you? Why
or why not?
In "What Language is That?" Hadiya and Selam are kept apart by their
parents after the escalation of religious conflict. Have you ever
experienced a situation in which friends and family have objected to someone
in your life for reasons you didn't understand? What did you do? How did you
feel?
The bus in "Luxurious Hearses" is a microcosm not only of African
hierarchies and religions but also of the continent's numerous languages and
dialects. Discuss how speech is related to class, culture, religion, and
heritage. How does dialogue function in the other stories? Do we hold
similar attitudes about language in our own culture? What are some examples?
This book takes its title from instructions given to a Rwandan girl by
her mother in "My Parents' Bedroom." Did the familiar domestic detail in
this story Maman's perfume, little Jean's flannel pajamas, toys like
Mickey Mouse in the children's room intensify for you the horror of what
ensued? Is there comparable detail in any of the other stories that helped
you to identify with Uwem Akpan's characters?
Although the stories in Say You're One of Them are fictitious,
the situations they depict have a basis in reality. How do the emotions you
feel when reading these stories compare to your emotions when reading
accounts in the news media of similar atrocities? Has reading Say You're
One of Them changed the way you think about these issues?
Uwem Akpan addressed his other vocation in an interview, saying, "A key
Vatican II document makes it very clear that the joys and anguish of the
world are the joys and anguish of the Church." While reading these stories,
were you ever reminded that this writer is also a Jesuit priest? Does
Akpan's subject matter seem to you to be imbued with religious values? In
what ways? Do the drama and power of Akpan's fiction call forth any biblical
stories for you? If so, which ones?
Some of the children in Say You're One of Them are not poor.
What are the particular obstacles these children face that are not issues in
your own country? Are there challenges other than poverty with which you can
identify? Do the family dynamics feel familiar to you?
The poet and memoirist Mary Karr wrote that Uwem Akpan "has invented a
new language both for horror and for the relentless persistence of light
in war- torn countries." Did you find any beauty or goodness in these tragic
tales? If so, offer some examples.
Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Back Bay Books.
Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.
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