Never Look an American in the Eye

A Memoir of Flying Turtles, Colonial Ghosts, and the Making of a Nigerian American

By: Okey Ndibe

Narrated by: Peter Jay Fernandez

Okey Ndibe's funny, charming, and penetrating memoir tells of his move from Nigeria to America, where he came to edit the influential - but forever teetering on the verge of insolvency - African Commentary magazine. It recounts stories of Ndibe's relationships with Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, and other literary figures; examines the differences between Nigerian and American etiquette and politics; recalls an incident of racial profiling just 13 days after he arrived in the US, in which he was mistaken for a bank robber; considers American stereotypes about Africa (and vice versa); and juxtaposes African folktales with Wall Street trickery. All these stories and more come together in a generous, encompassing book about the making of a writer and a new American.

©2016 Okey Ndibe (P)2016 Recorded Books

use a Nigerian next time.

the pronunciations of Donne of the terms was appalling. why use a Latin American to narrate a Nigerians story???

Masterful

I understand the anxiety about the narration being performed by a non-Nigerian, but honestly, Jay Fernandez did a damn good job; frankly, he did better with Igbo words than many non-Igbo Nigerians, LOL. His narration did very little to detract from the masterful work of Okey, and the rich tapestry it wove of the Nigerian socio-political experience, from the colonial to the present times.

Okey Ndibe is without doubt one of the greatest African writers alive today, arguably the 'inheritor' of Chinua Achebe's legacy.