Literary Itinerary (aka: My Reading Map), Entry 1: "Becoming Abigail"

"A human being alone is a thing more sad than any lost animal, and nothing destroys the soul quite like aloneness." -- from Becoming Abigail

Abani, Chris. Becoming Abigail. New York: Turnaround, 2006.

Genre: Contemporary (International) Fiction

Subjects & Themes: obsession (danger of); loneliness/isolation; self-discovery vs. self-destruction; search for home; family, love, & loss; ties that bind, ties that break; history; oppression; racism, sexism, & rape; power vs. subjugation; hope; and, the thwarted attempt to come-of-age.

"I cannot in good conscience recommend Chris Abani's "Becoming Abigail" without providing the potential reader with due warning: The experience will leave you ravaged, and you'll never again question the power of words to move and sway. Years from now, you may not remember the precise nature of the story (if it be imprinted upon you at all) but you will most definitely recall the saccharine taste it left dormant in your mouth, the inescapable after-taste of a bittersweet emotional eclipse...Becoming Abigail defies description and opposes literary categorization; it exists without beginning, merely with a definitive end. It is a short body of work with passages so painful they require a speed read--like ripping off a band-aid. It is fragmented thoughts that unite in cohesive whole...Becoming Abigail contradicts all logic, yet somehow it rings truer than anything I've ever read...It is a literary experience as it should be

--so good, it hurts."

**Review excerpt courtesy of The Madison Times, July 28-August 3, 2006, by Anna Taylor (that'd be me) provided as means of sharing my immediate reaction to the abovesaid novella.

Other Books by Abani:

1. Masters of the Board, 1985.
2. Graceland, 2004.
3. The Virgin of Flames, 2007.
4. Song for Night, 2007.

Poetry:

1. Kalakuta, 2000.
2. Daphne's Lot, 2002.
3. Dog Woman, 2004.
4. Hands Washing Water, 2006.

Author Website: http://www.chrisabani.com/

Suggested Related Reads (if you fancy another African setting):

1. Skinner's Drift: A Novel by Lisa Fugard (2006).
2. Beasts of No Nation: A Novel by Uzodinma Iweala (2005).
3. Petals of Blood by Ngugi wa Thiong'o (1977).
4. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee.
5. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1904).
6. The Madonna of Excelsior by Zakes Mda (2004).

Suggested Read a Likes (if you crave a sadly hopeful & hushed ominous aura w/ flawed, but strong central characters):

1. Veronica by Mary Gaitskill (2005).
2. Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson (1993).
3. The Awakening by Kate Chopin (1932).
4. The Lover by Marguerite Duras (1984).
5. The Hours by Michael Cunningham (1998).
6. A Gesture Life by Chang-rae Lee (1999).

Recommended Background Music: Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata--on repeat.