Summary

A 2010 New York Times Book Review Notable Book

A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year

A Barack Obama Reading List Pick

Finalist for the 2011 Dayton Literary Peace Prize

Selected for the October 2010 Indie Next List

African-born author Dinaw Mengestu's prose is praised as "heart-rending and indelible" (Publishers Weekly), and his debut novel The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears was a New York Times Notable Book. In How to Read the Air, Mengestu crafts a moving tale about one man's search for identity. After his estranged Ethiopian immigrant father dies, Jonas hopes to answer questions about his heritage and culture. So he leaves his wife and home in New York and sets out across the trail his own parents took when they first arrived in America.

Editorial Reviews

“Beautifully written…The book lingers in the mind.” —New York Times Book Review

“Mengestu draws a haunting psychological portrait of recent immigrants to America, insecure and alienated, striving to fit in while mourning the loss of their cultural heritage and social status. Mengestu’s precise and nuanced prose evokes characters, scenes, and emotions with an invigorating and unparalleled clarity.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This is a poetic story, written by young Ethiopian writer who is already being hailed as a literary master.” —AudioFile

“A sometimes somber, always searching novel of love, loss and the immigrant experience by Ethiopia-born writer Mengestu…Elegant, confident prose brings this tale to life.” —Kirkus Reviews

Reviews

You're reviewing: How to Read the Air

How do you rate this product? *

	1 1 star	2 2 star	3 3 star	4 4 star	5 5 star
Quality
Price
Value

*Nickname
*Summary of Your Review
*Let us know your thoughts

Be the first to review this product

Author Bio: Dinaw Mengestu

Dinaw Mengestu was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1978. He is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, a fellowship in fiction from the New York Foundation for the Arts, and a Lannan Literary Fellowship. He was also named a “20 under 40” writer to watch by the New Yorker. His writing has appeared in the New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Harper’s, Granta, and other publications. He lives with his family in Washington, DC.

Titles by Author

Details

Format:	Retail CD
Available Formats :	Retail CD
Category:	Fiction/Literary
Publisher:	Recorded Books, Inc.
CDs:	8
Runtime:	9.30
ISBN:	9781664506534
Audience:	Adult
Language:	English

How to Read the Air

Summary

Summary

Editorial Reviews

Editorial Reviews

Reviews