Graceland (41 page)

If your name isn’t here, it’s not because I don’t love you or that your kindness has been forgotten.

Thank you all.

Copyright © 2004 by Christopher Abani

All rights reserved

Farrar, Straus and Giroux
19 Union Square West, New York 10003

www.fsgbooks.com

Designed by Patrice Sheridan

eISBN 9781429929820

First eBook Edition : June 2011

First edition, 2004

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Abani, Christopher.

GraceLand / Chris Abani.—1st ed.

p. cm.

1. Elvis Presley impersonators—Fiction. 2. Fathers and sons—Fiction.

3. Lagos (Nigeria)—Fiction. 4. Teenage boys—Fiction. 1. Title.

PR9387 .9 .A23G73 2004

813’.6—dc21

2003012705

Table of Contents

Title Page

Book I

ONE

Lagos, 1983

TWO

Afikpo, 1972

THREE

Lagos, 1983

FOUR

Afikpo, 1974

FIVE

Lagos, 1983

SIX

Afikpo, 1976

SEVEN

Lagos, 1983

EIGHT

Afikpo, 1976

NINE

Lagos, 1983

TEN

Afikpo, 1977

Afikpo, 1978

ELEVEN

Lagos, 1983

TWELVE

Afikpo, 1979

THIRTEEN

Lagos, 1983

FOURTEEN

Afikpo, 1980

FIFTEEN

Lagos, 1983

SIXTEEN

Afikpo, 1980

SEVENTEEN

Lagos, 1983

EIGHTEEN

Afikpo, 1980

NINETEEN

Lagos, 1983

TWENTY

Afikpo, 1980

Afikpo, 1981

Book II

TWENTY-ONE

Lagos, 1983

TWENTY-TWO

Lagos, 1983

TWENTY-THREE

Abeokuta, 1983

TWENTY-FOUR

Lagos, 1983

TWENTY-FIVE

Lagos, 1983

TWENTY-SIX

Ijebu, 1983

TWENTY-SEVEN

Lagos, 1983

TWENTY-EIGHT

Lagos, 1983

TWENTY-NINE

Lagos, 1983

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Copyright Page