"A fascinating meditation on identity that explores the novelist's own
mixed heritage and mixed feelings....A true citizen of the world....With
great insight and compassion, Abani reveals that behind his--and
every--face are unseen scars." --San Francisco Chronicle
In The Face: Cartography of the Void, acclaimed Nigerian-born author
and poet Chris Abani has given us a profound and gorgeously wrought
short memoir that navigates the stories written upon his own face.
Beginning with his early childhood immersed in the Igbo culture of West
Africa, Abani unfurls a lushly poetic, insightful, and funny narrative
that investigates the roles that race, culture, and language play in
fashioning our sense of self.
As Abani so lovingly puts it, he contemplates "all the people who have
touched my face, slapped it, punched it, kissed it, washed it, shaved
it. All of that human contact must leave some trace, some of the need
and anger that motivated that touch. This face is softened by it all.
Made supple by all the wonder it has beheld, all the kindness, all the
generosity of life." The Face: Cartography of the Void is a gift to be
read, re-read, shared, and treasured, from an author at the height of
his artistic powers.
Alternately philosophical, funny, personal, political, and poetic, the
short memoirs in The Face series offer unique perspectives from some of
our favorite writers. Find out more at www.restlessbooks.com/the-face.
