Library Loot and Sunday Salon

One World: A Global Anthology of Short Stories ~ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jhumpa Lahiri, and 21 other authors, 2009, short stories, 192 pages

This book is made up of twenty-three stories, each from a different author from across the globe.  All belong to one world, united in their diversity and ethnicity. And together they have one aim: to involve and move the reader.  The range of authors takes in such literary greats as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Jhumpa Lahiri.  The members of the collective are:

1. Elaine Chiew (Malaysia)
2. Molara Wood (Nigeria)
3. Jhumpa Lahiri (United States)
4. Martin A Ramos (Puerto Rico)
5. Lauri Kubutsile (Botswana)
6. Chika Unigwe (Nigeria)
7. Ravi Mangla (United States)
8. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria)
9. Skye Brannon (United States)
10. Jude Dibia (Nigeria)
11. Shabnam Nadiya (Bangladesh)
12. Petina Gappah (Zimbabwe)
13. Ivan Gabirel Reborek (Australia)
14. Vanessa Gebbie (Britain)
15. Emmanual Dipita Kwa (Cameroon)
16. Henrietta Rose-Innes (South Africa)
17. Lucinda Nelson Dhavan (India)
18. Adetokunbo Abiola (Nigeria)
19. Wadzanai Mhute (Zimbabwe)
20. Konstantinos Tzikas (Greece)
21. Ken Kamoche (Kenya)
22. Sequoia Nagamatsu (United States)
23. Ovo Adagha (Nigeria)

The concept of One World is often a multi-colored tapestry into which sundry, if not contending patterns can be woven.  For those of us who worked on this project, ‘One World’ goes beyond the everyday notion of the globe as a physical geographic entity.  Rather, we understand it as a universal idea, one that transcends national boundaries to comment on the most prevailing aspects of the human condition. This attempt to redefine the borders of the world we live in through the short story recognizes the many conflicting issues of race, language, economy, gender and ethnicity, which separate and limit us.  We readily acknowledge, however, that regardless of our differences or the disparities in our stories, we are united by our humanity.  We invite the reader on a personal journey across continents, countries, cultures and landscapes, to reflect on these beautiful, at times chaotic, renditions on the human experience.  We hope the reach of this path will transcend the borders of each story, and perhaps function as an agent of change.

I look forward to reading Jhumpa Lahiri's "The Third and Final Continent," since I really enjoyed her novel The Namesake — which was the very first book I wrote about when I started blogging on January 30, 2007.  Click HERE or on the title to read that post.  Want some irony?  Lahiri may have been the FIRST author on this blog, but she's the LAST author in this book of short stories.  Saving the best for last, maybe?  The picture (photo credit to The Economic Times) shows Obama presenting her the National Humanities medal in 2014.  I found this book in the Crown Center's library.

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.