Say You’re One of Them, a short story collection by Uwem Akpan, SJ, a Nigerian Jesuit, is Oprah Winfrey’s latest pick for her book club. It’s the first time Oprah has chosen a book of short stories (and Fr. Akpan is her first Jesuit author).
Each of the book’s five stories are set in a different African country and all are told from a child’s point of view. They deal with the poverty, ethnic conflicts, and social dislocations of Africa. One of them, “An Ex-Mas Feast,” was published in the New Yorker in 2005. He was profiled in the New York Times when his book was published last year.
Fr. Akpan was ordained in 2003 and has an MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan. He is currently pastor of a church in Lagos.
