Never Look an American in the Eye: A Memoir of Flying Turtles, Colonial Ghosts, and the Making of a Nigerian American - Okey Ndibe

Written by Okey Ndibe
Read by Peter Jay Fernandez
Format: M4B
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

The author of Foreign Gods, Inc. and Arrows of Rain tells his own immigrant’s tale, where what is lost in translation is often as hilarious as it is harrowing.

Okey Ndibe’s funny, charming, and penetrating memoir tells of his move from Nigeria to America, where he came to edit the influential - but forever teetering on the verge of insolvency - African Commentary magazine. It recounts stories of Ndibe’s relationships with Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, and other literary figures; examines the differences between Nigerian and American etiquette and politics; recalls an incident of racial profiling just 13 days after he arrived in the US, in which he was mistaken for a bank robber; considers American stereotypes about Africa (and vice versa); and juxtaposes African folktales with Wall Street trickery. All these stories and more come together in a generous, encompassing book about the making of a writer and a new American.

October 11 2016
8 hrs and 4 mins