In this stunning debut novel, Agu, a young boy in an unnamed West African nation, is recruited into a unit of guerrilla fighters as civil war engulfs his country. Haunted by his father's own death at the hands of militants, which he fled just before witnessing, Agu is vulnerable to the dangerous yet paternal nature of his new commander.
While the war rages on, Agu becomes increasingly divorced from the life he had known before the conflict started -- a life of school friends, church services, and time with his family still intact. As he vividly recalls these sunnier times, his daily reality spins further downward into inexplicable brutality, primal fear, and loss of selfhood. His relationship with his commander deepens even as it darkens, and his camaraderie with a fellow soldier lends a deceptive sense of normalcy to his experience.
In a powerful, strikingly original voice that vividly captures Agu's youth and confusion, Uzodinma Iweala has produced a harrowing, deeply affecting novel. Both a searing take on coming-of-age and a vivid document of the dark face of war, Beasts of No Nation announces the arrival of an extaordinary new writer.
Awards and Nominations
Congratulations abound for Uzodinma Iweala! He has been selected as a finalist for the Virginia Commonwealth University First Novelist Award. The Department of English and MFA Creative Writing program at the Virginia Commonwealth University will announce the winner in early June. For a complete list of shortlist recipients and other finalists, go to: http://www.has.vcu.edu/eng/resources/first_novelist.htm
Congratulations to Uzodinma Iweala, whose first novel Beasts of No Nation, published by HarperCollins, won the B&N Discover Award for Fiction.
Heres what B&N says about the award:
This outstanding debut novel reveals the experiences of a young African boy conscripted into a ragtag army of guerilla fighters, and signals the arrival of a major new talent.
From the judges:
"For its breathtaking portrayal of the survival of the human spirit in the face of suffering and cruelty, Beasts of No Nation would be a remarkable accomplishment for a writer practicing at the height of maturity and skill. Uzodinma Iweala was only 23 years old when he published this novel, but it is unmistakably an imaginative tour de force. Iweala has found a voice for young Agu, an African child soldier conscripted into a brutal guerilla army, which is both harrowing and heartbreaking. The novel is testament to the profound ability of literature to show us horror, dismantle it and identify its parts, and arrive in the silent ether of the aftermath with something utterly unforgettable and, most importantly, worth cherishing." — Carrie Brown
Further congratulations to Uzodinma Iweala. Beasts of No Nation is a finalist fo the New York Public Library's Young Lions Award. Winners will be announced Wed, June 7th at a ceremony at the Library.
Critical Praise for Beasts of No Nation
"[Beasts of No Nation] is a work of visceral urgencyit heralds the arrival of a major talent."
&mdash Amitav Ghosh, author of The Glass Palace
"Uzodinma Iweala is a gifted and brave writer."
&mdash Chris Abani, author of GraceLand
"An astonishing debut."
&mdash Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
