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Genesis
A short story nominated for the Caine Prize in African Literature 2016, first published in Johns Hopkins University's prestigious literary magazine Callaloo in 2015.
A young boy's parents emigrate from Nigeria to the less-than-obvious destination of Utah, where the father receives a mechanical engineering degree but is (surprise, surprise) unable to find a job. He moves his family, now with two sons, to the smaller city of Bountiful, Utah, where he located a job as an auto mechanic.
This less-than-perfect idyll is defined by the slow descent of the boys' mother into insanity, sometimes violently directed at her husband, sometimes violently directed at her oldest son. Told from the oldest son's PoV, this is a heart-wrenching story of lost identity, broken promises, and shattered dreams.
A young boy's parents emigrate from Nigeria to the less-than-obvious destination of Utah, where the father receives a mechanical engineering degree but is (surprise, surprise) unable to find a job. He moves his family, now with two sons, to the smaller city of Bountiful, Utah, where he located a job as an auto mechanic.
This less-than-perfect idyll is defined by the slow descent of the boys' mother into insanity, sometimes violently directed at her husband, sometimes violently directed at her oldest son. Told from the oldest son's PoV, this is a heart-wrenching story of lost identity, broken promises, and shattered dreams.
13 pages, ebook
Published January 1, 2015
15 people want to read
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July 3, 2016Rating: 4.5* of five
A short story nominated for the Caine Prize in African Literature 2016, this is the first time in the history of the prize that a previous winner (2013) has been re-considered for the Prize. There is a good deal of controversy surrounding this in the African literary community, as the previous 16 awards have never included previous winners even in the longlist.
I haven't read Folarin's previous prize-winning story, but based on this story, I'm amazed and disappointed that he hasn't been widely and eagerly sought after by international book publishers. Perhaps he doesn't have an entire book of stories ready? No novel sitting in a desk drawer? But this work of identity fiction is accomplished, powerful, and it speaks directly to me and my experience of being raised by a mentally ill mother who was emotionally abusive of my father to the extent that he feared her too much to try to get me away from the unhealthy environment my mother created.
As the idea of the Caine Prize to date has been to shine a spotlight on literary lions previously unknown and help them assume their rightful place in the world of international letters, the nomination of a previous winner could mark a sea-change from awarding the deserving but unknown talents that teem in their masses around Africa, a continent of myriad countries and very, very few presses, to a reward prize for the Best African Short Stories {insert date here}.
Like any change in the established literary firmament, this causes disorientation and deep, divisive debate. (Does anyone remember what the Orange Prize is called now? Or the Whitbread Prize? Both still exist but changed sponsors, to much hullabaloo and debate. I for one lost track of them after their name changes.) Good thing or bad, policy shift or happenstance, Folarin's story is one that any story-based contest would have a hard time ignoring.
It will be very interesting to see what happens if Folarin wins the 2016 prize, to be announced on the 4th of July.
A short story nominated for the Caine Prize in African Literature 2016, this is the first time in the history of the prize that a previous winner (2013) has been re-considered for the Prize. There is a good deal of controversy surrounding this in the African literary community, as the previous 16 awards have never included previous winners even in the longlist.
I haven't read Folarin's previous prize-winning story, but based on this story, I'm amazed and disappointed that he hasn't been widely and eagerly sought after by international book publishers. Perhaps he doesn't have an entire book of stories ready? No novel sitting in a desk drawer? But this work of identity fiction is accomplished, powerful, and it speaks directly to me and my experience of being raised by a mentally ill mother who was emotionally abusive of my father to the extent that he feared her too much to try to get me away from the unhealthy environment my mother created.
As the idea of the Caine Prize to date has been to shine a spotlight on literary lions previously unknown and help them assume their rightful place in the world of international letters, the nomination of a previous winner could mark a sea-change from awarding the deserving but unknown talents that teem in their masses around Africa, a continent of myriad countries and very, very few presses, to a reward prize for the Best African Short Stories {insert date here}.
Like any change in the established literary firmament, this causes disorientation and deep, divisive debate. (Does anyone remember what the Orange Prize is called now? Or the Whitbread Prize? Both still exist but changed sponsors, to much hullabaloo and debate. I for one lost track of them after their name changes.) Good thing or bad, policy shift or happenstance, Folarin's story is one that any story-based contest would have a hard time ignoring.
It will be very interesting to see what happens if Folarin wins the 2016 prize, to be announced on the 4th of July.
November 12, 2016
This (short) story is a gentrified literary journey. I don't wish to spoil it for anyone who wishes to read it so I will leave any review without description of the actual story.
Had the style been more alive, less polished, it would have been more appealing to me as a story I can relate to in my own life experience, a definite 4 or even 5 star rating but the truth is, I found it heavy and distanced the writer from what he was writing about, what should in the first place be a personal experience. Tope Folarin is a talented writer who has written many good pieces but as in most writers these days, the need to please the literary crowd, if often, to me, evident in the writing. The provocative and the straightforward is wrapped in cotton and looses it's reality, looses its feeling, in what we so desperately need, the stories in our humanity, whether they are good or bad. It's like watching a painting people say is great - without feeling it.
Had the style been more alive, less polished, it would have been more appealing to me as a story I can relate to in my own life experience, a definite 4 or even 5 star rating but the truth is, I found it heavy and distanced the writer from what he was writing about, what should in the first place be a personal experience. Tope Folarin is a talented writer who has written many good pieces but as in most writers these days, the need to please the literary crowd, if often, to me, evident in the writing. The provocative and the straightforward is wrapped in cotton and looses it's reality, looses its feeling, in what we so desperately need, the stories in our humanity, whether they are good or bad. It's like watching a painting people say is great - without feeling it.
September 8, 2016
Motherhood. Love. Immigration. Race. Silence.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews