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Critical Praise for Becoming Abigail

• A New York Times Editor’s Choice

• A Chicago Reader Critic’s Choice

• A selection of the Essence Magazine Book Club

• A selection of the Black Expressions Book Club

“Moody, lyrical prose reminiscent of Toni Morrison’s Beloved … Though the fictional Abigail exists only on the pages of Abani’s novella, her character will seize the imagination of everyone who reads her story.”

—Essence Magazine

“Abani is a fiction writer of mature and bounteous gifts … Becoming Abigail is more compressed and interior [than GraceLand], a poetic treatment of terror and loneliness … its sharp focus on the devastation of one young woman, has a deeper kind of resonance … Abani, himself incarcerated and tortured for his writings and activism in Nigeria in the mid-’80s, writes about the body’s capacity for both ecstasy and pain with an honesty and precision rarely encountered in recent fiction … This is a powerful, harrowing work, made more so because, while much of the narrative seems to be a vortex of affliction, Abigail’s destiny is not inevitable. The small canvas suits Chris Abani.”

—Sam Lipsyte, New York Times Book Review

“Becoming Abigail, a spare yet voluptuous tale about a young Nigerian girl’s escape from prostitution is so hypnotic that it begs to be read in one sitting … Abigail is sensitive, courageous, and teetering on the brink of madness. Effortlessly gliding between past and present, Chris Abani spins a timeless story of misfortune and triumph.”

—Entertainment Weekly

“A darkly poetic investigation into the past’s deceptive hold over the present … Abani writes in dense, gorgeous prose. Abigail is not a creature of pity but inspiration.”

—The Nation

“Compelling and gorgeously written, this is a coming-of-age novella like no other. Chris Abani explores the depths of loss and exploitation with what can only be described as a knowing tenderness. An extraordinary, necessary book.”

—Cristina Garcia, author of Dreaming in Cuban

“Abani finds his place in a long line of literary refugees, from the Mexican revolutionary Ricardo Flores Magon to Bertolt Brecht and Theodor Adorno … Becoming Abigail is, not surprisingly, about memory, loss, and all the cruel disjunctions of exile. Not for a moment, though, does Abani allow himself that most tempting stupefacient of exile, nostalgia. Abani’s prose is diaphanous and poetic. His lyricism is elliptical, almost evasive … Becoming Abigail is a hard, unsparing book, cruel in its beauty, shocking in its compassion.”

—Los Angeles Times Book Review

“A lyrical yet devastating account of a young woman’s relocation to London from Nigeria … Abani’s abundant talent is clearly evident throughout, as is his willingness to be brutally honest without being grotesque. He also refrains from polemics and focuses solely on the artistic presentation of a young, tragic life, leaving interpretation to the reader.”

—Library Journal

“Abani’s voice brings perspective to every moment, turning pain into a beautiful painterly meditation on loss and aloneness.”

—Aimee Bender, author of The Girl in the Flammable Skirt

“A searing girl’s coming-of-age novella in which a troubled Nigerian teen is threatened with becoming human trade … Recalling Lucas Moodyson’s crushing Lilya4Ever, this portrait of a brutalized girl given no control over her life or body, features Abani’s lyrical prose and deft moves between short chapters.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Spare, haunting vignettes of exquisite delicacy … Never sensationalized, the continual revelations are more shocking for being quietly told, compressed into taut moments that reveal secrets of cruelty—and of love—up to the last page. Abani tells a strong young woman’s story with graphic empathy.”

—Booklist

“Abani’s writing never becomes didactic—Becoming Abigail has the elegance and lyricism of a prose poem but doesn’t soft-pedal the abuse it chronicles.”

—Chicago Reader

“Abani’s empathy for Abigail’s torn life is matched only by his honesty in portraying it. Nothing at all is held back. A harrowing piece of work.”

—Peter Orner, author of Esther Stories

“Abani writes in a fearless prose … He is able to toe that line between restraint and abundance, unfolding Abigail’s history like the raising of a bandage.”

—Time Out Chicago