The Thing Around Your Neck

From the Orange Prize-winning author of ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ come twelve dazzling stories that turn a penetrating eye on the ties that bind men and women, parents and children, Nigeria and the West.
In 'A Private Experience', a medical student hides from a violent riot with a poor Muslim woman whose dignity and faith force her to confront the realities and fears she's been pushing away.

In 'Tomorrow Is Too Far', a woman unlocks the devastating secret that surrounds her brother's death.

The young mother at the centre of 'Imitation' finds her comfortable life threatened when she learns that her husband back in Lagos has moved his mistress into their home.

And the title story depicts the choking loneliness of a Nigerian girl who moves to an America that turns out to be nothing like the country she expected; though falling in love brings her desires nearly within reach, a death in her homeland forces her to re-examine them.

Searing and profound, suffused with beauty, sorrow and longing, this collection is a resounding confirmation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's prodigious storytelling powers.

Short-listed for John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize 2009

“'"The Thing Around your Neck", with its warm and sympathetic heroines and its finely cadenced un-American English prose, demonstrates that she is keeping faith with her talent and with her country.' Lindsay Duguid, Sunday Times'Her particular gift is the seductive ability to tell a story…Adichie writes with an economy and precision that makes the strange seem familiar. She makes storytelling seem as easy as birdsong.' Jane Shilling, Telegraph'The writing throughout the book has a verve that propels you forward through the pages. And a pervasive, lightly mocking intelligence gives the whole thing a lively, satirical edge.' James Lasdun, Guardian'An elegant collection. From beginning to end the prose is serene and the characterization deft.' TLS'Almost every [story], in the way only the most satisfying short stories manage, holds the kernel of something bigger in its fist yet is simultaneously a fully realised, standalone entity. They don't aspire to be novels that would be a bad thing but they hum with potential.' ScotsmanPraise for 'Half of a Yellow Sun':'I look with awe and envy at this young woman from Africa who is recording the history of her country. She is fortunate - and we, her readers, are even luckier.' Edmund White'Here is a new writer endowed with the gift of ancient storytellers.' Chinua Achebe'Heartbreaking, funny, exquisitely written and, without doubt, a literary masterpiece and a classic.' Daily Mail'Stunning. It has a ramshackle freedom and exuberant ambition.' Observer'Vividly written, thrumming with life…a remarkable novel. In its compassionate intelligence as in its capacity for intimate portraiture, this novel is a worthy successor to such twentieth-century classics as Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" and V.S. Naipaul's "A Bend in the River".' Joyce Carol Oates'Rarely have I felt so there, in the middle of all that suffering. I wasted the last fifty pages, reading them far too greedily and fast, because I couldn't bear to let go…It is a magnificent second novel - and can't fail to find the readership it deserves and demands.' Margaret Forster'This magnificent novel is a gripping portrayal of the horrors of war…A major new African voice.' Independent”

‘“The Thing Around your Neck”, with its warm and sympathetic heroines and its finely cadenced un-American English prose, demonstrates that she is keeping faith with her talent and with her country.’ Lindsay Duguid, Sunday Times

‘Her particular gift is the seductive ability to tell a story…Adichie writes with an economy and precision that makes the strange seem familiar. She makes storytelling seem as easy as birdsong.’ Jane Shilling, Telegraph

‘Adichie’s spare, poised prose, the coolness of her phrasing, ensures these scenes are achieved without melodrama. And though she writes very specifically about Nigeria, the stories have a universal application.’ FT

‘An elegant collection. From beginning to end the prose is serene and the characterization deft.’ TLS

‘The powerful themes close to Adichie’s heart shine through, but never over-shadow writing of clarity and brilliance.’ Aminatta Forna, Guardian

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is the author of Purple Hibiscus, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize, Half of a Yellow Sun, which won the Orange Prize for Fiction; and acclaimed story collection The Thing Around Your Neck. Americanah, was published around the world in 2013, received numerous awards and was named one of New York Times Ten Books of the Year. A recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, she divides her time between the United States and Nigeria.

From the Orange Prize-winning author of 'Half of a Yellow Sun' come twelve dazzling stories that turn a penetrating eye on the ties that bind men and women, parents and children, Nigeria and the West. In 'A Private Experience', a medical student hides from a violent riot with a poor Muslim woman whose dignity and faith force her to confront the realities and fears she's been pushing away. In 'Tomorrow Is Too Far', a woman unlocks the devastating secret that surrounds her brother's death. The young mother at the centre of 'Imitation' finds her comfortable life threatened when she learns that her husband back in Lagos has moved his mistress into their home. And the title story depicts the choking loneliness of a Nigerian girl who moves to an America that turns out to be nothing like the country she expected; though falling in love brings her desires nearly within reach, a death in her homeland forces her to re-examine them. Searing and profound, suffused with beauty, sorrow and longing, this collection is a resounding confirmation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's prodigious storytelling powers.

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