From the beginning of this audiobook, all I could think was 'WOW' from beginning to end. I loved the storytelling and heartfelt journey that Akpan takes us on as we journey with Ekong Udousoro from Nigeria to NYC to embark on continuing the journey of learning the depth of his love of writing. We et to experience the feelings and emotions through his storytelling, and experience the grotesque and heartbreaking moments along the way.

Akpan did an excellent job with this beautiful story, and, as someone who is in a lifelong relationship with a Nigerian immigrant who is now an American citizen, this story pulled at my heartstrings way too much. I really, truly enjoyed this beautiful journey.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this audiobook in return for an honest review. Highly, highly recommended!

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Very different from most books i have read before and although this was very long it was a great read! would recommend!

A story common to the lives of New York City. No wonder it is called the melting pot where you can find people from all corners of the earth!


Thank you NetGally and RB Media for giving me the opportunity to listen to this.

#NewYorkMyVillage #NetGalley

I enjoyed this book and its a wonderful story about a man moving from Africa to New York to edit a book about his culture.  I liked the book because not only was I learning about history and culture but, I was also intrigued by how people where treated.  It was full of shocking issues from the difficulties getting a visa, the subletting of apartments leading to some awful conditions including his fight with bedbugs. Yes some scary stuff happening in this book. I listened to the audiobook and loved the narrator he was so nice to listen to and really brought the book to life. Emphasising how shocking life could be for immigrants. I also loved the humorous tone throughout the book. Although I really loved the story I found it rather long winded at times as the audiobook is 15 hours long. I also found my self shouting at the book hoover up the bed bugs then lol.
Many thanks to the author and publishers for bringing this rather interesting and shock book to life.
The above review has already been placed on goodreads, Barnes&noble, amazon UK and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/new-york-my-village-by-uwen-akpan-recorded-books-book-ww-norton-3-stars
Under either of these names ladyreading365 or lady Reading365

It is always impressive when a book has the ability for you to fall in love with a character and their story, while also educating you on real experiences and events.

My only complaint is that the book felt longwinded at some points, and I had to stop myself from skimming paragraphs.

New York, My Village is the first book I have written by author Uwen Akpan, and I had to stop myself a few times and realize I was not reading a biography, because I mean this book is a life experience to me. There were some funny moments that I can still picture in my mind and giggle to myself, but some real issues that I have no experience with but that hurt all the same. Ekong Udousoro's arrival to New York is very picturesque, his Time Square experience is very real. The situation he finds himself in while living in his Hell's Kitchen apartment is every New Yorker's nightmare and the paranoia that ensues is very real. Also very real is the racism, the hostility brought on by ignorance is very unfortunate but not limited to the literary world or New York. The friendships that blossomed are some of the good that you root for as you read along Ekong's life away from his wife and his village. The juggling of issues that can be seen both in his Nigeria and in his New York, and how some healing takes place makes for New York, My Village a worthy read.

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review. But I wasn't able to listen to it as it was archived.

An interesting debut novel with an intriguing premise. The story telling felt a bit clunky in parts — long scenes of dialogue and more tell than show. But the scenes with the narrator getting his visa were great. The narration was good.

In this novel, Ekong travels from Nigeria to New York City for a fellowship at a small publishing house. There he plans to learn about the publishing industry and edit a collection of Biafran war stories, but his journey is marked with outrageous obstacles starting with the American embassy in Lagos, Nigeria. This is where the title of the book first appears, when a white embassy worker says, "And didn't they tell you I deny visas to folks visiting New York, my village?" Of course, Ekong's situation does not improve once he arrives in the United States and encounters racism at his job and beyond.

I want to describe this book as Kafkaesque but that feels too Eurocentric. I haven't read enough African authors to give this book a proper review within its cultural context. And that's part of what this book is calling out: the lack of diversity in the publishing industry and the stories that are bought and sold in the United States.

That being said, Nigerian author Uwem Akpan does more than enough to fill in cultural context for readers. And the book's protagonist, Ekong, approaches the ignorance and hatred around him from every angle imaginable.

I listened to the audiobook, which is read by fellow Nigerian novelist, Elnathan John. This book contains a lot of phrases and folk songs that are great to hear in their original languages, which I believe includes Annang, the native language of both Uwem Akpan and his character, Ekong.

Before publishing New York, My Village, Akpan studied creative writing at the University of Michigan and published a collection of stories called, Say You’re One of Them , with each story set in a different African country. I was particularly interested to see other books about "Niger Delta issues" name-checked by Ekong in some of the final chapters of New York, My Village. I thought I would link to those titles that I was able to find here on Goodreads in this review as a way of amplifying them:
The Poet Lied And Other Poems by Odia Ofeimun

The Last Duty by Isidore Okpewho

Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria by Noo Saro-Wiwa

Song of a Goat by John P. Clark-Bekederemo

Blackass by A. Igoni Barrett

Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria's Military Coup Culture (1966-1976) by Max Siollun

Oil on Water by Helon Habila

The Beauty I Have Seen by Tanure Ojaide

Reluctant Rebel by Fola Oyewole

The Famished Road by Ben Okrie


Trigger warnings (I noticed) in this book include: retellings of Biafran civil war violence, retellings of U.S.-based violence, racism, colorism, xenophobia, anti-Blackness, threat of police violence, bed bugs

I voluntarily obtained a digital version of this audiobook free from Netgalley and RB Media in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this under the radar book! I really was struck by it- it served as a stark reminder as to how hard people need to work to even get to American, and how the American dream is often an illusion. Ekong thinks that the hardest part will be getting past the embassy- which was no joke, seeing as how they at first denied everything, down to the existence of his tribe, He quickly becomes disillusioned and is faced with white cultural superiority, racism, and assumptions about Africa and Africans. I knew nothing about the Biafran War and found that detail edifying. I also liked the audio. All in all- recommend!

I really struggled with this one, but I know a majority of readers will adore this story. Just wasn't for me.

Ekong gets a visa to come to the US from Nigeria to work in the publishing industry. He struggles with crappy apartments, bed bugs, and racism.

This book is very dialogue heavy and could have been probably 100 pages shorter. I don't know if it was just the style or all the dialogue but unfortunately this piece was lost on me. I encourage you to still give it a chance - a ton of readers loved it and rated it 4-5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the electronic audio copy of this book. This is a story about the Nigerian editor, Ekong Udousoro, as he moves to New York City to edit an anthology about Biafran war. He describes his trials and tribulations adapting to his new life in a foreign country.
I enjoyed Ekong as a character. It’s interesting to see NYC through his eyes. I also enjoyed the humor with which the story is told, as well as the parts about publishing. I would have liked to see more of that. It was also interesting to learn about Biafran war, which is also discussed in the book.

An unflinching account of an immigrant’s experience coming to NYC that captures all the beauty, chaos, and difficulty that entails. There is also so much humor imparted into the story.

Ekong Udousoro comes to NYC because he is hoping to publish his book about the horrific Biafra War. When he first comes, he is mesmerized by all that NYC has to offer. He loves Starbucks, but is so uncertain of how salted caramel actually tastes. He also realizes his dream apartment may not exactly be that. It is a sublet walk-up apartment in Hell’s Kitchen where he is never really alone because he always has bed bugs to greet him. He learns that African Food is considered to be bad, that African’s themselves will be considered dirty, that a greedy landlord who lies leaves him few options, and he is just learning how to navigate the city.

I big part of the story is about bed bugs. I am itching just writing about this. His apartment is supposed to be sprayed for them, but of course is not. He is bleeding, itching, calling his friends to help, and putting tons of chemicals on himself and spraying the apartment. I think the bugs come to symbolize parts of life, is it ever possible to finally rid himself of these awful and pesky creatures? It captures how little power an immigrant has, how lonely Ekong feels at times, wants to escape his environment and return home, how people treat him as a lesser person, and some people are awful, but may not be possible to ever really rid yourself of them either.

Still, Ekona does not lose his awe of life. He sets out to learn about NYC. He starts to meet all different types of people; Chinese, African-American, and Latino. He starts to make friends and this offers the ability to come together under all sorts of circumstances. He has a joyous Thanksgiving when he decides to cook some of his favorite dishes from Nigeria, along with Traditional American Foods and it is just lovely. So, NYC is a melting pot, yes, but it also has tiny villages all around, just like back in Nigeria. Really, a powerful ode to surviving being an outsider and examining life in NYC. The author does a splendid job making unbearable and cruel situations funny.

I would definitely recommend this book, especially if you have been to New York frequently or are Newly Immigrating to the City, you will understand the book that much more. I really enjoyed listening to it on Audio. 🎧

Thank you NetGalley, Ukem Akpan, and RB Media Publishers for a copy of this book.

This was a fantastic story by Uwen Akpan. Its a sharp examination of tribalism across the world clocked in humor, pain, and captivating prose. Akpan explores race, class, culture, and how it can be used to divide people and also bring them together. Over all its a powerful story that both provides timely social commentary, but also keeps readers interested and engaged. The audiobook was narrated by Elnathan John, who did a remarkable job of bringing Akpan's words to life.