Washington Black by Esi Edugyan, next on my To Read list.
Washington Black
Washington Black is the title of a book recently reviewed by Jen Blankfein in her blog Book Nation.
She says, “It’s the story of an 11 year old slave in Barbados and his adventurous escape to freedom.”
I was so intrigued by Jen’s description of this book that I bought it right away.
Somehow I wanted the paperback instead of the Kindle version which I usually get. I may end up with the audio too; I listened to a small sample and loved the narrator.
The author Esi Edgyan
Read Jen’s review and see if you agree.
Amazon gave me a small print sample – 13 pages – and I just read those. I’m really looking forward to the full book which should arrive next week.
Chimamanda and Michelle
Two women I admire, Chimamanda Adichie and Michelle Obama, will appear together in London in early December. I want to go! Quick flight over, do a little Christmas shopping at Harrod’s, catch the show, come home the next day!
But the tickets were sold out within minutes of going on sale. The event is part of Michelle Obama’s book tour for her memoir, Beloved. Chimamanda Adichie will interview her about the book.
According to the BBC, “They will talk about her experiences from childhood, her work, motherhood and ‘her time spent at the world’s most famous address.’ ”
Trevor Noah
Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show
Not quite Michelle and Chimamanda, but I will get to see Trevor Noah! He is headlining the Anti-Defamation League Fundraising Gala on Sunday.
The ADL says, “Our signature event, VOICES: A Show of Unity, is an unforgettable benefit and community event. VOICES uses the power of laughter, music and story telling to convene people of different backgrounds and beliefs from across our area and to celebrate our similarities and differences.”
The $300 ticket price made me hesitate, so I reached out to the show’s director to ask if I could sing in the choir. She welcomed me. We’re doing just two numbers, American the Beautiful and Aretha Franklin’s Respect. There is a fabulous soloist. We do one verse of America the Beautiful, the soloist sings the second, then we sing background for the soloist for third. We’re the back-up singers for Respect.
The choir is on near the beginning. The director wasn’t sure she could get tickets for the performers to stay for the whole event, but at Sunday’s rehearsal she said she had. I’m looing forward to it.
Nigerian Women With Fashion Magazines
Four Nigerian women who run fashion magazines are profiled in this article from The New York Times.
The writer, Adenike Olanrewaju, a Nigerian herself, says, “People turn to the publications looking for the latest news about movie stars, Afrobeats artists, fashion models, social media personalities and African reality TV figures, along with events like Fashion Week in Lagos last month.”
In the US and Europe, magazines are available in many locations, including bookstores, drugstores, supermarkets, and neighborhood shops. We can have them delivered to our homes. Nigeria does not have a formal distribution system to reach consumers. Apart from selling at airports and a few chains, the magazine publishers mostly rely on informal sellers, principally street vendors.
Street vendors are everywhere in Lagos and other major cities. With traffic often at a near standstill, it is easy to shop through the car window. Not just magazines, but an amazing array of goods are available along the crowded streets. “The transactions are clumsy: Customers quickly throw money out their car windows before traffic picks up and they move on,” the author says. She’s absolutely correct.
All four women have intriguing stories. I especially liked this: “After a 15-year stint as a reporter for Nigeria’s largest television network, NTA, Adesuwa Onyenokwe was tired of reporting stories that had no women in them.”
Adesuwa Onyenokwe, publisher of Today’s Woman in Nigeria
She started a program for and about women. Now she has left TV and publishes Today’s Woman magazine. She takes on difficult topics, supporting gay rights for example. The article says about the magazine,
Instead of featuring celebrities, its covers usually highlight topics many in Nigeria still consider taboo; articles like “Drug Abuse Is Closer Than You Think” and “Say No to Domestic Violence.
I’ll look for the magazines as we sit in traffic this Christmas in Nigeria. And maybe I’ll get a photograph of the street vendors. I’ve tried before, but just when I think I’ve got a good shot, the traffic moves or the seller runs off to another customer. The Guardian had a great article about the street sellers a few months ago with a picture of the crowded road.
