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Alien Stories

By: E.C. Osondu

Availability: In Stock

Themes:

Black/African
Short Fiction Prize

Category:

Fiction

ISBN: 9781950774319

Publication Date: 2021-06-11

About This Title

Celebrated Nigerian-born writer E.C. Osondu delivers a short-story collection of nimble dexterity and startling originality in his Boa Short Fiction Prize-winning Alien Stories.

These eighteen stories, each centered around an encounter with the unexpected, explore what it means to be an alien. With a nod to the dual meaning of alien as both foreigner and extraterrestrial, Osondu turns familiar science-fiction tropes and immigration narratives on their heads, blending one with the other to call forth a whirlwind of otherness.

With wry observations about society and human nature, in shifting landscapes from Africa to America to outer space and back again, Alien Stories breaks down the concept of foreignness to reveal what unites us all as ‘aliens’ within a complex and interconnected universe.

Praise for E. C. Osondu

“A vital voice in the short story, telling us new truths with deep humanity." –George Saunders

“Osondu looks at the human condition in all its poignant absurdity; with observant wonder and subtle humor, he portrays our capacity for heartbreak, resilience, love, courage, sorrow, and most of all, our unique capacity for hope and hopelessness rolled together.” —Mary Gaitskill, author of This Is Pleasure

“E.C. Osondu has written uncannily direct stories with nothing ‘posed’ about them. This is a collection of real power, surprise, and harsh beauty.” —Amy Hempel, author of Sing to It

“A very modern, compassionate voice...Osondu is ceaseless in his willingness to examine the human condition in all its glories and frailties.” —Kirkus