Foreign Gods, Inc., Okey Ndibe
Foreign Gods, Inc., Okey Ndibe
1 Rating(s)
List: $22.95 | Sale: $16.07
Club: $11.47

Foreign Gods, Inc.

Author: Okey Ndibe

Narrator: Dominic Hoffman

Unabridged: 11 hr 25 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/14/2014

Synopsis

Foreign Gods, Inc. tells the story of Ike, a New York–based Nigerian cab driver who sets out to steal the statue of an ancient war deity from his home village and sell it to a New York gallery.Ike's plan is fueled by desperation. Despite a degree in economics from a major American college, his strong accent has barred him from the corporate world. Forced to eke out a living as a cab driver, he is unable to manage the emotional and material needs of a temperamental African American bride and a widowed mother demanding financial support. When he turns to gambling, his mounting losses compound his woes.And so he travels back to Nigeria to steal the statue, where he has to deal with old friends, family, and a mounting conflict between those in the village who worship the deity and those who practice Christianity.A meditation on the dreams, promises, and frustrations of the immigrant life in America; the nature and impact of religious conflicts; an examination of the ways in which modern culture creates or heightens infatuation with the "exotic," including the desire to own strange objects and hanker after ineffable illusions; and an exploration of the shifting nature of memory, Foreign Gods, Inc. is a brilliant work of fiction that illuminates our globally interconnected world like no other.

About Okey Ndibe

Okey Ndibe, author of the novels Arrows of Rain and Foreign Gods, Inc., teaches African literature and African diaspora literature at Brown University. He earned an MFA and PhD from the University of Massachusetts–Amherst and has taught at Connecticut College, Bard College–Simon’s Rock, Trinity College (Connecticut), and the University of Lagos (as a Fulbright scholar). He also served on the editorial board of the Hartford Courant, where his essays won national and state awards.

About Dominic Hoffman

Dominic Hoffman, winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards for narration, has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice. He is a Los Angeles–based actor of stage, screen, and television. He has appeared in such television shows as The Shield, NYPD Blue, and The Jamie Foxx Show. He attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art as well as the American Conservatory Theater.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Tayari on October 12, 2013

This book is Victor LaValle meets Chinua Achebe meets Percival Everett. The premise of Foreign Gods Inc makes you think it is a satire-- a down on his luck cab driver decided to return to his village in Nigeria to steal his local deity to be sold at a NYC god-gallery. And, indeed, it begins in that......more

Goodreads review by Jill on February 14, 2014

Ikechukwu Uzondu , “Ike for short”, is living testimony to the American Dream gone awry. Nigerian born and Amherst educated in economics, he is underemployed as a New York City cab driver, where he spends his days anxious about his substantial debt, incurred when he married a greedy woman to obtain......more

Goodreads review by Nancy on August 13, 2016

first: My thanks to Soho, who sent me this novel -- I am so happy I got a copy because it's amazing. second: I'm skipping the plot here, but if you want to read about it, you'll find it on my reading journal page. I really believe that this book is one of those novels that you don't fully appreciate......more

Goodreads review by robin on August 10, 2024

Foreign Gods, Inc. Okey Ndibe's second novel "Foreign Gods Inc" (2014). tells a tale of Ngene, the war god of a small Nigerian village named Utonki. Born in Nigeria, Ndibe earned advanced degrees in the United States and teaches African and African diaspora literature at Brown University. The primary......more

Goodreads review by Nnedi on March 01, 2014

Often slow, sometimes a bit overwritten, but this so so story full of story and what a hell of an ending. And the premise is not only compelling, it's real. So many African deities have been sold by their own people for petty cash paid by foreigners. It's so twisted and telling. This novel is also a......more

Quotes

“We clearly have a fresh talent at work here. It is quite a while since I sensed creative promise on this level.” Wole Soyinka, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

“Richly evocative…Ndibe invests his story with enough dark comedy to make Ngene an odoriferous presence in his own right…In Mr. Ndibe’s agile hands, he’s both a source of satire and an embodiment of pure terror.” New York Times

“Hoffman is masterful with dialogue…his character voices are full and as nuanced as author Okey Ndibe created them to be.” Chicago Tribune (audio review)

“Neither fable nor melodrama, nor what’s crudely niched as ‘world literature,’ the novel traces the story of a painstakingly-crafted protagonist and his community caught up in the inescapable allure of success defined in Western terms.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A Nigerian living in America has a moneymaking scheme—to return to his native village, steal the statue of a war god and sell it to a tony New York dealer who deals in such deities…Ndibe writes of culture clash in a moving way that makes Ike’s march toward disaster inexorable and ineffably sad.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Novelist Ndibe unfurls his rich narrative ­gradually, allowing room for plenty of character interaction while painting a revealing portrait of contemporary Nigeria. With piercing psychological insight and biting commentary on the challenges faced by immigrants, the novel is as full-blooded and fierce as the war deity who drives the story.” Booklist

“Race, religion, greed, xenophobia—author Okey Ndibe tackles these sensitive topics and more in the heist novel to end all heist novels.” BookPage

“Foreign Gods, Inc. reads like the narrative of a taxi-driving Faust in modern Nigeria and America. With Molière-like humorous debunking of religious hypocrisy and rancid materialism, it teems with characters and situations that make you laugh in order not to cry.” Ngugi wa Thiong’o, author of Wizard of the Crow

“Foreign Gods, Inc. is a blistering exploration of the contemporary African immigrant experience in America. Ndibe tackles tough questions: from the shifting notions of home and identity to the nature of greed. In prose which is fresh and often funny, Ndibe draws the reader into the heartbreaking story of Ike Uzondu’s attempt to survive in a world which seems determined to crush him.” Chika Unigwe, author of On Black Sisters Street

“Ndibe writes with a folksy inclusiveness, inviting characters in to stay a little longer than they’re needed, allowing for colorful banter among villagers who have an altogether different sense of time…Into this richly stocked brew of characters, Ndibe skilfully introduces some genuine suspense in the final stretch, guiding readers through the nail-biting tension of getting through customs Nigerian-style. As an author with a foot in Nigeria and the US, he expertly brings both worlds to life before they collide.” Shelf Awareness

Awards

  • Publishers Weekly Pick of the Week
Add to Cart
Add to Wish List