Uwem Akpan’s brand of humor and satire draws readers in from the very beginning of his debut novel, NEW YORK, MY VILLAGE, as his protagonist is attempting to get a visa. Ekong Udousoro has been awarded a prestigious Toni Morrison Fellowship to spend four months at a small publishing house, Andrew & Thompson, in New York City, working on his own anthology of writings about the Biafran War and joining their editorial team. Anyone who can find grudging humor in the absurdities of bureaucratic procedures will appreciate Akpan’s borderline absurdist descriptions of Ekong’s numerous failed attempts to get his visa.

"NEW YORK, MY VILLAGE touches on important political and social themes, but it’s also at times rollickingly funny to accompany Ekong on his picaresque journey through New York."

Ekong does eventually get his papers, of course, and arrives in New York full of optimism and more than a little naïveté. He is dazzled and enthralled by the lights and colors of Times Square, and struck by the generosity and kindness of not only his new boss, Molly, but also the absent tenant from whom he’s subletting a tiny apartment in Hell’s Kitchen. Readers will immediately pick up on some telling details --- such as the fact that Ekong’s apartment is dangerously unrenovated and that Molly and her colleagues might have their own agendas for welcoming him --- but, at least at first, he is delighted by his new life in New York.

Soon, however, the cracks in the façade begin to show, as Ekong bumps up against suspicious tenants in his building and uncovers some duplicitous behavior among his seemingly gregarious colleagues at Andrew & Thompson. And then there are the bedbugs. Meanwhile, Ekong reunites with some Nigerian friends and acquaintances who now make their homes in the Bronx and New Jersey. But it turns out that some of the lingering tensions of the Biafran War continue to color relationships and create potential conflicts even in this new country.

Ekong thought he was leaving behind the divisive tribalism of his home country to explore a new kind of diversity in the United States. As the 2016 election approaches, and as he begins to recognize the deep racial divisions in the US, Ekong grows more and more wary, wondering who he can trust either personally or professionally.

NEW YORK, MY VILLAGE touches on important political and social themes, but it’s also at times rollickingly funny to accompany Ekong on his picaresque journey through New York. The book is full of colorful and observant portraits of New York City’s neighborhoods, as well as mouthwatering descriptions of food. Anyone who has been involved in the publishing world will find the scenes of pitch meetings and awards dinners especially telling, but they’re not the only ones who will appreciate Akpan’s astute and self-aware novel.