This is a collection of intriguing short stories which transcend beyond the barriers of gender, religion and class. Sefi Atta, winner of the 2009, Noma Award for Publishing, Africa’s highest publishing honour, presents us with a range of versatile narrative voices, which gives us insight into their daily lives and experiences.
In the title story, News From Home, where Atta presents two worlds as she writes about the chaos in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria through Eve, a Nigerian immigrant in the US, with precision and an adept intellect; while giving us the immigrant view of life in America at the same time. In Yahoo Yahoo, one of the most captivating stories of the collection, Atta writes with candid humour about the famous 419 and email scams, Nigeria is known for through the teenage Idowu; who is fast becoming the protégé of Augustine, an expert scammer. She exposes the stigma attached to mental health and its devastating effects on those it affects, in Madness In The Family.
Atta gives her readers the opportunity to explore the themes of domestic violence, immigration, family and religious and cultural attitudes to life through her characters. You have no choice but to salute Atta for this dazzling collection of short stories, which were inspired by newspaper headlines, not her travels to the different states in Nigeria, where her stories are based. She writes with authority and the nuances and humour specific to Nigeria but will get a laugh from anyone because the issues are universal and accessible.
News From Home is published by Lubin & Kleyner, an imprint of Flipped Eye Publishing (UK)
