Clare's Reviews > Say You're One of Them

What I learned from this book is that I need to know more about the history and political situation in Africa. Akpan has a gift for writing from the viewpoint of children who suffer due to poverty and violence. It is my fault, not his, that I didn't understand these stories better. I am somewhat familiar with the terrible violence that has occurred in Rwanda due to tribal conflict. Thus the story, "My Parent's Bedroom", was very clear to me. It was also terribly frightening.
The first story I read "An Ex-Mas Feast" was particular to a certain time and place but it could have been the story of family suffering in any ghetto. The young daughter who prostitutes herself to provide for the family, the children who want so desperately to go to school but do not have the money for tuition and clothing is not unfamiliar but sniffing glue to prevent hunger pains, oh how that hurt to read.
As a person working in the social services field, I am not unfamiliar with suffering but Uwem Akpan has put a personal and very new face on the terrible lives of some of the world's children. My heart wept.