Say You’re One Of Them (41 page)

1. Although the stories in
   Say You’re One of Them
   are fictitious, the situations they depict have a basis in reality. How do the emotions you feel when reading these stories compare to your emotions when reading accounts in the news media of similar atrocities? Has reading
   Say You’re One of Them
   changed the way you think about these issues?
   

1. Uwem Akpan addressed his other vocation in an interview, saying, “A key Vatican II document makes it very clear that the joys and anguish of the world are the joys and anguish of the Church.” While reading these stories, were you ever reminded that this writer is also a Jesuit priest? Does Akpan’s subject matter seem to you to be imbued with religious values? In what ways? Do the drama and power of Akpan’s fiction call forth any biblical stories for you? If so, which ones?
   

1. Some of the children in
   Say You’re One of Them
   are not poor. What are the particular obstacles these children face that are not issues in your own country? Are there challenges other than poverty with which you can identify? Do the family dynamics feel familiar to you?
   

1. The poet and memoirist Mary Karr wrote that Uwem Akpan “has invented a new language—both for horror and for the relentless persistence of light in war-torn countries.” Did you find any beauty or goodness in these tragic tales? If so, offer some examples.
   

Grammy-Award winning world music star Angelique Kidjo has written an original song, “Agbalaba,” inspired by Uwem Akpan’s stories. For a free download of the song, as well as an audio recording of “An Ex-Mas Feast” by Uwem Akpan go to
www.hachettebookgroup.com/features/sayyoureoneofthem/content/kidjo.asp
.