What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky

The debut collection of short stories from Lesley Nneka Arimah sparkles with a chorus of women, each of whom is given their own special voice. These women are in Nigeria, where the author was born, as well as in the United States, where the author now lives.

Good short stories are not easy to write, but Ms. Arimah certainly has honed her craft. Even more surprising is the mix of magical realism, folktales, fiction, and science fiction, which I wasn't expecting. Ms. Arimah excelled at each genre and wove a full story in just a few pages. In fact, there were at least 4 stories that knocked my socks off to the point that I had to put the book down for a few minutes to let the conclusion wash over me.

I was particularly interested to read a book about Nigerians here and in Nigeria because one nonprofit I work for has been sending a number of grants to that country.

Thanks the the PBS News Hour Book Club for Choosing this book as the August selection. Their site contains a Q&A with the author, an annotated page, discussion questions, and a live interview:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/features/now-read-this/