An Ex-Mas Feast by Uwem Akpan

An Ex-Mas Feast by Uwem Akpan

from Say You’re One of Them

26 pages, eBook

Where I Got It: The New Yorker

Story Rating: 4 Stars

Content Ratings:

Violence: Mild-Moderate-Brutal

Swearing: Clean-Light-Filthy

Sexual Content: White-Pink-Red

Shocking - Universal - Genuine

Summary:

This story follows a family in the Nairobi slums over the Christmas holiday, as they battle hunger, money problems and family strife.

My Thoughts:

The context of this story is shocking. Very young girls selling themselves on the street as the family’s main source of income while the parents sleep the day away, drug use encouraged by the parents as a treat, and the acceptance of young children leaving home to make their own way. But, if you focus on the family dynamics, there is something that is undeniably universal about it—bickering siblings, defiant children. It’s strange to think children with such heavy life burdens still shoulder children’s everyday problems as well.

Quotes:

“She had never forgiven our parents for not being rich enough to send her to school. She had been behaving like a cat that was going feral—” -Uwem Akpan, An Ex-Mas Feast

“The sweet smell of her Jaguar adventures filled the shack, overpowering the heavy scent of insecticide. Though her arrivals always reminded us that life could be better, tonight I hated the perfume.” -Uwem Akpan, An Ex-Mas Feast