‘When A Man Falls From The Sky’ Set To Win Kirkus $50,000 Prize

Sep 21, 2017by Miriam David0

18 wonderful writers made it to the final review stage of Kirkus 2017 Prize. Amongst these wonderful writer is the lovely Nneka Lesley Arimah. Her debut Short Story Collection ‘What It Means When A Man Falls From The Sky’ is a finalist for the Kirkus prize and we are rooting for her to win. Read a review of her short story collection and you will understand why we love this book. Click here to see the other finalists.

 

Read An Excerpt Of Kirkus’ Review Of The Book

Nigeria serves as a prism refracting the myriad experiences of both former and current inhabitants.

In two different stories in Arimah’s debut collection, characters have the supernatural ability to drain emotions from other people, for good or for ill. In “Who Will Greet You at Home,” a Nigerian woman participates in a tradition of making children out of inanimate materials and having them blessed by older women in hopes that they will become real. But these blessings come at a price—in her case, “Mama” blesses the child in exchange for the protagonist’s own joy, “siphoned a bit, just a dab…a little bit of her life for her child’s life.” In the title story, figures known as Mathematicians are able to use precise algorithms and equations to relieve negative emotions from customers who can afford it….

Read the rest here

 

ABOUT THE KIRKUS PRIZE

The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between Sept. 1, 2016 to Aug. 31, 2017 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2017 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on November 2, 2017, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

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