Voice of America

by E.C. Osondu

A brilliantly original, deft and darkly funny debut short story collection from the winner of the 2009 Caine Prize for African Writing and a 2011 Pushcart Prize.
Set in Nigeria and America, Voice of America moves from boys and girls in villages and refugee camps to the disillusionment and confusion of young married couples living in America, and then back to bustling Lagos. These are stories of two countries and of the frayed bonds between them.

Genres: Short Stories, Africa, Fiction, African Literature, Nigeria, Immigration

215 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

E. C. Osondu is a Nigerian writer known for his short stories. He received his MFA from Syracuse University and is the winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing and a Pushcart Prize. His fiction has appeared in The Atlantic, n+1, Guernica, and other publications. He teaches at Providence College in Rhode Island.

Reviews

[Will Byrnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

To Nigerians in Osondo’s tales, America voice is a siren calling many to be dashed on the rocks of disappointment. But given how many awful things are shown here about Nigeria, it is no wonder.

Osondo shows us working and middle class Nigerians both in the USA and in Africa, struggling not only with issues relating to emigration, but with personal injustices aplenty. One might think from reading these stories that almost all Nigerian men cheat on their wives, and not only cheat, but establish alternate families whenever possible without bothering to really divorce earlier spouses. The corruption and sometimes insanity of African governance makes it understandable that greener fields might be calling, as the Nigerian prince internet fraud we laugh at here would appear to be the tip of the iceberg in the real country. Osondu’s characters are often cheated, robbed, maltreated by their relations and their public officials and many live lives of desperation, both quiet and noisy. Poverty, as well as selfishness and foolishness, drives many to desperate, even criminal acts. A mother, driven from her home by the janjaweed, takes up with an ill-intentioned sort who reminded me of Jabba the Hutt, and who has dark designs on her daughters. The world shown here is a bleak place indeed.


E.C. Osondu - from brittlepaper.com

But that is not all that Osondu offers. At least one philanderer is brought up short in a very amusing story, and occasionally immigration fraud works out in a way that will make you smile. Osondu applies a light touch in a story in which hopeful young men have their hopes raised when they hear a message on the Voice of America from a young American woman who wants to acquire pen pals in Nigeria. Some greener fields are found. The thing I enjoyed most about the stories is that almost all offer insight into the nation of origin, whether by showing the harshness of life there, or by relating myths and magical elements of local culture. You will learn how to tell which of the people you see in the marketplace, for instance, are really spirits. Larger issues are addressed as well. Orphans praying for adoption wonder if God is asleep.

Sometimes the author double dips when relating story elements. He repeats a tale about animals becoming intoxicated by eating cannabis. And the philander tales were a bit too much alike. But overall, this is a sometimes disturbing, sometimes amusing, and almost always informative look at Nigeria and how its people relate to America.

Review first posted - September, 2010

Published - November, 2010



=============================EXTRA STUFF

Interview with the author by Gbenga Awomodu in BN Bella Naija

Osongu's award-winning story Waiting in Guernica magazine

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am fully on board the short story train now. There have been so many stellar collections in the past few years. This one actually came out last November and I finally dug it out of the "to be read" pile. I'll actually post pictures of that pile one day.

Osondu's stories are set in Nigeria and the U.S. and focus mainly on the hopes and dreams of the Nigerian people. Young boys living in a refugee camp dreaming of being adopted and living abroad. A young man sent to study in America by the hard work of his family, only to return disgraced. A woman so desparate to have a child that she returns to Nigeria and allows her mother-in-law to take her to a healer. My favorite is "A Letter From Home", where a mother gently prods her son to send money home and remember his roots and not marry a White woman.

In an age where all we hear about Nigeria is corruption and scams, this is beautiful insight into its people, their culture, and their motivations.

[Wendy Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A man keeps a broken TV in his home so he can pretend to visitors that he is well-off. A boy in a Red Cross camp is called Orlando because the tshirt he wears is from Orlando, Florida. A young woman’s mother-in-law drags her through the streets of Lagos to a prophet who can get her a baby…

This is a brilliant book. Insightful, poignant and eye-opening stories mainly in the USA; a few back in Africa. Glimpses and snatches of life in the USA for Nigerians caught between a fast-paced liberal culture and deeply engrained traditions. Some stories are heart-breaking, while others are amusing impressions of what pursuing the American Dream really means. Full of perceptive observations and characters who question relentlessly:
“But why can’t the man find a job? He is not like us, he should be able to get another job, the white people like themselves, they are not like us, who do not like anyone who is not of our tribe.”
“Why are the Americans sending the eye doctors to us? Do they mean to tell us they have cured all the blind people in America?”
Strongly recommended.

[Darkowaa · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://africanbookaddict.wordpress.co...
I bought this book because Osondu's story "Waiting" won the Caine's Prize in 2009 and I found it very touching. I wanted to read more of his stories and I'm quite satisfied with my overall reading experience of the book.
Some stories were meh. I found a lot of similarities of the Nigerian experiences in America/in Nigeria to be the same for Ghanaians in America/in Ghana...well, not as extreme, but quite close.
Issues of childless marriages, (arranged) marriages, kidnappings, fraud etc were cliche from the plethora of African novels on the market on the immigrant experience in the west.
My favorite story was "A Letter From Home"- it was hilarious! Other stories had hilarious bits as well, but were still meh to me.
"Voice of America" is a pleasant read...but not on my highly recommended list.
:)

[Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

E.C. Osondu the gates of heaven opened up and God said you made it. The author wrote a bunch of stories most of which showed the reader the how Africans view Americans in high regard. There was a lot of stories which had to do with West Africans going to America to better their lives and they find the country to be culturally shell shocked. Meaning it was not what they expected it to be. The last story in the end was a nice punctuation to explain how the protagonist held the girl from Iowa at high status even though later she sends a letter that she is now interested in Japan. Why can Africans view Americans as the same as them. Actually the Africans that come to America may be more intelligent than the average American

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was quite pleased with this short-story collection, and that surprised me because I have been down on short stories for a couple years (after loving them for most of my life).

Many of the stories share themes of the old ways or traditions helping or hindering Nigerian immigrants to the United States or Nigerians living in a changing country--mainly the city of Lagos. I am not familiar enough with Nigeria's diverse cultures to know how accurate any of these stories are, but I do know good writing. Check it out.

[Nina Chachu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the stories in this collection somewhat uneven, not so much for the way they were written, but partly because of their structure. But the stories sound true, at least to those of us who are long-term residents of West Africa.

[Somtochukwu O · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! This is a collection of short stories written in the way a collection of short stories should be written! I highly recommend!

[Wally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read a long time ago.

Eighteen stories by Nigerian author Osondu focused on the tension between Africans and Americans, traditional values and modernity, young and old, and rich and poor.

Osondu crafts beautiful tales that never ended the way I expected. In one, a girl blinded in a cooking accident develops a second sight that allows her to identify criminals, predict the weather, and bring prosperity to her village. When a charity organization visits to help those with sight-related problems, the village convinces her to hide until they leave. In another, an unemployed expat American oil worker is kidnapped by poor Nigerian youth hoping for a ransom. They cannot believe no one will pay anything for the guy. In the title story, a young man answers a radio call from an American looking for pen pals and strikes up a relationship with her in just three letters. Only later does he discover she is a high school student looking for help with a paper about Africans.

[Ella Bloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely breathtaking.

There's something about Osondu's writing that makes me feel as though I exist within the story itself when I am reading. His descriptions of his characters, their sorrows, and their surroundings are so vivid and captivating. He possesses the rare ability to write an honest depiction of the human condition, through stories about immigrants, refugees and many more: people whose struggles define the human condition itself.

It was so surreal to read a book written by a professor whose class I will be taking in the fall.

[Morolake · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I ever have to recommend a book for Nigerians thinking of relocating, this will be on the list.

Humorous with a huge slice of painful realities on relocating from Africa to America. It also touches on issues of how various stakeholders interact - family members, the immigrants, the observers, marriages, racism, parenting, tourism amongst other things.

Its a series of short stories that offers various perspectives.

[Shimnom · Rating 5 out of 5]

With Osondu, you always know what you're going to get: nostalgia, connection, humor and most times, sadness.

In Voice of America, we encounter the lives of people who follow the siren like call to go 'abroad' only for it to end up bringing them to their death. And also the story of those who hear its allure, but can not go.

I didn't enjoy it as much as the other collections, This House is not For Sale and Alien Stories, but it was worth reading all the same.

[Jasmina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories exploring ties between Nigeria and US, told from perspective of various Nigerians living in US, and a few Americans living in Nigeria. A good insight into cultural history and difference, trying to adapt lifestyles to new environments, exploring how change can be good and trying to bridge the gap between old and new.

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. I was engaged by the first few sentences of every single story. Enlightening and enjoyable. Provocative and tragic.

[book_leafs · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This debut collection of 18 short stories (all of which I believe were previously published in various literary journals and magazines) combine to paint a vivid picture of the lives of everyday Nigerians and of Nigerian immigrants to America. (Nigerians are by far the largest African immigrant nationality in the U.S. and I happen to live in one of the largest concentrations of them.) The title is very apt, as almost every story has some kind of connection to America, even if it's just as a roads-paved-with-gold promised land. The stories generally fall into three categories: those which show how tough life is in Nigeria, those which present a Nigerian aspiring to life in America, and those which show the struggles of Nigerian immigrants in America (as a Nigerian immigrant to America, the author seems well versed in all three categories). These themes are so strong throughout the stories that I after I read the first several, I had to set the book aside and limit myself to a story every other day or so. Each story is a captivating, well-told, and often witty, vignette -- but they definitely start to blur together when not given room to breathe. Potential readers should also know that the menfolk of Nigeria do not come out very well in Osondu's depictions. They tend to be either corrupt, cruel, drunk, violent, immoral, lazy, and selfish, with surprising few exceptions (and the women tend to be smart, wise, and much-beleaguered). While the individual characters and situations don't really cast lasting impressions, the combined effect of the stories does build a fine sense of place and people. Well worth reading if you live in one of the major Nigerian-American communities (Houston, New York, suburban Maryland, etc.) and definitely worth reading if you have an interest in contemporary African literature.

[Scot · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are eighteen different short stories in this debut collection by Osandu, a Nigerian-born writer who got his MFA at Syracuse and now teaches and writes in the USA. I am reminded of the powerful collection of short stories Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan. Akpan sought to teach about stark and troubling class, ethnic, gender, and religious struggles in a range of nations across the African continent, and there was a constant subtextual call for compassion throughout his short stoires. Here his countryman Osondu raises the same sorts of cultural issues--and there are plenty of stark depictions of grim life realities--but almost all of Osondu's stories focus on either life in Nigeria or among Nigerian immigrants who have moved to the United States. Osondu deserves credit for a level of humor his wiser characters can find even in some bleak situations--this sense that some times you just need to laugh is a strength; he interweaves the tragedy and comedy of the human condition admirably.

The final story of the collection, bearing the same name as the book itself, is perhaps one of the best--although it is light and airy, it still speaks to some universal human experiences that all should be able to appreciate. In some of the stories one character is a Nigerian graduate student teaching in an American university--I particularly enjoyed "Nigerians in America," as in that story one such character worked in the department and university at the same job I once had--when he bemoaned a large shared office he had to use, I knew the exact room he described, as that had been my office three decades ago. I had never seen the office as a burden the way he did, but the coincidence certainly made me simpatico.

[alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I selected Voice of America for the Book Riot 2015 Read Harder Challenge: An Author from Africa and read it in March for BB's 50 Shades of Green challenge. Each short story details intersections between Nigerian characters and their ideas of, expectations for, and conflicts with life in America. While I don't usually go in for short stories, this collection was so approachable. Osondu's characters, while perhaps not always likeable, are appealing and realistically human in their struggles. Magical moments, physical abnormalities, or unfamiliar traditions add some unanticipated spice to the stories but don't serve to create distance between the reader and the characters' world. Everything has a distinct flavor (is it Osondu? or Nigeria? I don't know enough to know!). Several of the shorts are dark, and I got a bit depressed toward the middle. I love stories that provide an opportunity to examine cultural norms, reveal the difficulties of marrying cultures, and present poignant immigrant experiences. This collection was worth the read, and I will definitely seek out more of Osondu's writing.

[morninglightmama · Rating 4 out of 5]

These short stories give a taste of the differences between life in Nigeria and the U.S. and the difficulties faced by those who straddle both worlds. Osondu has a sharp writing style- not many words are used to convey a personality of a character and his or her cultural perspectives. Oftentimes, I found his style to be jarring. The story would be going along at one pace and suddenly a major happening would be very anticlimactically presented in just one sentence, leaving me shaken for a moment before I could continue reading. My favorite story, Welcome to America, presents a more assimilated character looking back upon his early years in the U.S. with a level of his innocence and trusting nature now changed. The tone in which he looks back on this time is reverent and realistic. I'm happy to have found another short story author who can pack so much into such a compact story!

[The Loopy Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this collection of stories, Osondu portrays Nigerians (both in his homeland, and here in America) in an honest, unflinching light. He uses fascinating details to underscore the violence and desolation like how displaced children in refugee camps, the result of civil wars, name each other by the T-shirts they receive from foreign aid workers offering help. He offers intimate portraits of desperation and judgement, as well as insight into cultural differences and beliefs. He highlights the differences between Americans and Nigerians that result in cultural misunderstandings, and he doesn’t sugarcoat the problems in Nigeria. An illuminating read. Strongly recommended.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed "Voices of America" by E. C. Esondu. The book is a collection of short stories. Most are set in Lagos. A few are set in different American states. I appreciated the accessibility of the stories. I also liked the the length- not too long, not too short.
The stories themselves are quite fascinating and I would guess a great glimpse of life in another part of the world and/or for a different group of people in America- first generation immigrants. Well worth the read.

[Li Sian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good stark debut collection. Osondu's fiction is funny, brash, misanthropist, and... sad. Voice of America is an ironic title as he switches between narratives about Nigerian society and the specific ways that society is harsh and punishing, and Nigerian diaspora in America. Hugely worth a read for those interested in contemporary fiction about Nigeria beyond Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Not quite The voice, but certainly a voice of Nigeria.

[Myne Whitman · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a lot of stories in this collection, and I'm not generally a fan of short shorts. However, a number of them left a deep impression on me, especially the last from which the collection got it's name. It is indeed a fact, and I think Wikileaks has made this even more obvious, that Nigeria and Nigerians leave a lot in the shadow of America.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Nigeria and the U.S., "Voice of America" is a collection of short stories that move from the fears and dreams of boys and girls in villages and refugee camps to the disillusionment and confusion of young married couples living in America, and then back to bustling Lagos. The book is humorous. It is also very sad, very hopeful, very real, and very beautiful.

[Elaine Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read! I love Nigerian authors and respect their strong literary tradition. This collection of short stories will take you from the continent of Africa to America. The writing is strong and incisive.

[Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initially difficult to get into but worth reading. Lots of insights into Nigeria: from those in the country wanting to get to America and from those in America thinking of home. Interesting characters and a good mix of modern issues and old customs. Would read more from this author.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The voice of Africa... you do what you must to survive. Depressing to hear what people have to do to survive even with an education

[Patricia Geller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short stories about Nigeria and the fascination of everything American and the irony that their "real" experiences of Americans is of drunk prostitute using oil workers.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clear, colorful narrative. Title story for the volume is a standout tale.

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Voice of America is a collection of one chapter stories about Nigerians. Some of the stories are uplifting and joyful, some are heartbreaking. All the stories are thought provoking.