GraceLand

Set in Maroko, a swampy, chaotic slum in Lagos, Nigeria, this novel is filled with reggae and highlife music, American films and the grim rhythms of city life. Its protagonist, Elvis Oke, is a teenager who dreams of becoming an Elvis impersonator, inspired by the American movies and books he devours. He rehearses for hours to scratchy tunes from a radio in the squalid shack he shares with his heavy-drinking father, stepmother and stepsiblings. To seem more convincing to American tourists, he wears heavy makeup that lightens his dark skin, hoping the performances will earn him dollars, yet he remains perpetually broke.

Job prospects are scarce, and Elvis's friend Redemption promises that Lagos's underworld offers quick money, which tempts him toward crime. Elvis also has an enigmatic but loyal guide in the King of the Beggars, who steps in to intervene. Caught between the frustration of out-of-reach ambitions and a varied chorus of narrating voices, Elvis works to build a version of Graceland that belongs to him.

At its heart, the book traces the relationship between a son and his father and examines a postcolonial Nigeria in which American popular culture holds enormous sway. Its author, Chris Abani, is a Nigerian-born writer.