An Orchestra of Minorities

Author: Obioma, Chigozie

Edition: 1st Edition

Number Of Pages: 464

Details:

A heartbreaking story about a Nigerian poultry farmer who sacrifices everything to win the woman he loves, by Man Booker Finalist and author of The Fishermen, Chigozie Obioma. "It is more than a superb and tragic novel; it's a historical treasure."- Boston Globe Set on the outskirts of Umuahia, Nigeria and narrated by a chi, or guardian spirit, An Orchestra of Minorities tells the story of Chinonso, a young poultry farmer whose soul is ignited when he sees a woman attempting to jump from a highway bridge. Horrified by her recklessness, Chinonso joins her on the roadside and hurls two of his prized chickens into the water below to express the severity of such a fall. The woman, Ndali, is stopped her in her tracks. Bonded by this night on the bridge, Chinonso and Ndali fall in love. But Ndali is from a wealthy family and struggles to imagine a future near a chicken coop. When her family objects to the union because he is uneducated, Chinonso sells most of his possessions to attend a college in Cyprus. But when he arrives he discovers there is no place at the school for him, and that he has been utterly duped by the young Nigerian who has made the arrangements... Penniless, homeless, and furious at a world which continues to relegate him to the sidelines, Chinonso gets further away from his dream, from Ndali and the farm he called home. Spanning continents, traversing the earth and cosmic spaces, and told by a narrator who has lived for hundreds of years, the novel is a contemporary twist of Homer's Odyssey. Written in the mythic style of the Igbo literary tradition, Chigozie Obioma weaves a heart-wrenching epic about destiny and determination. Amazon.com Review In 2015, Nigerian writer Chigozie Obioma’s debut, The Fisherman, was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize and announced the arrival of a talented new author. There is no drop-off in his sophomore effort, An Orchestra of Minorities, about a young farmer who, having fallen in love with a woman from a wealthy family, risks everything to prove his worth. As he did in his first novel, Obioma merges African and western storytelling traditions—in this case, the tale is narrated by the young man’s chi, or guardian spirit, and the story is patterned after The Odyssey—to create a dramatic, character-based novel. Readers will become immersed in his main character Chinonso’s journey, but it will leave them thinking about bigger themes as well—like the balance between self-determination and fate (or luck); and about the capacity for some to take advantage of others, and how that sort of mistreatment gets paid forward. --Chris Schluep, Amazon Book Review

Reviews:

Named a 'Most Anticipated Book of 2019' by Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair, Hello Giggles, PureWow, Literary Hub, and Fast Company   Named one of '11 Writers to Watch in 2019' by the Los Angeles Times

"Obioma writes with an exigent precision that makes AN ORCHESTRA OF MINORITIES feel at once timely and speculative. The novel aches with Chinonso. His triumphs are rare and hard-won. Obioma compels the reader to root for him, to see the poor chicken farmer's story as an epic."―The Atlantic

"It is more than a superb and tragic novel; it's a historical treasure."―Boston Globe

"It's a story as old as the epic."―New York Times Book Review

"Gorgeously written, with a twist of magical realism and a heavy dose of sad reality, this is your big novel of the winter."―Washington Post

"Transcendent . . . Chigozie Obioma's second novel is a rare treasure: a book that deepens the mystery of the human experience."―Seattle Times

"Obioma's novel remains interesting and important"―Minneapolis Star Tribune

"The chances that Chigozie Obioma's second novel would match, let alone surpass,

"The Fishermen," were slim. Happily, his follow-up, AN ORCHESTRA OF MINORITIES, is a triumph. . . . In an era of copycats,

"An Orchestra of Minorities" is an unusual and brilliantly original book."―The ...

EAN: 9780316412391

Release Date: 08-01-2019

Languages: English

Item Note: Great shape- pages are unmarked and sharp.Has a remainder mark. Hardcover Used - Like New Ships fast! 2019Illustrated

Item Condition: UsedLikeNew

Binding: Hardcover