#maya binyam
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Maya Binyam’s debut novel Hangman is hard to define. It doesn’t seem to slot neatly into any genre and the distinctive style won’t be to everyone’s taste, but it tells a memorable story of a man (about whom we are given few details) as he returns home to an unnamed country in sub-Saharan Africa after 26 years in America. Everything is very vague—all the travel arrangements were made for him but we aren’t told who by, an unknown person is picking him up at the airport and taking him somewhere. It seems he doesn’t know much himself, although he does know that he is trying to find his dying brother. To do this he must navigate bureaucrats, taxi drivers and strangers whose lives are strangely tied to his own.
At times, Binyam veers into the absurd and surreal, with the narrative taking on a dreamlike quality. The novel’s strongest moments lie in interactions between characters, revealing thoughtful observations about exile, cultural identity and the nature of diaspora.
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September Book Pile
In It’s Always Been Ours eating disorder specialist and storyteller Jessica Wilson challenges us to rethink what having a "good" body means in contemporary society. By centering the bodies of Black women in her cultural discussions of body image, food, health, and wellness, Wilson argues that we can interrogate white supremacy’s hold on us and reimagine the ways we think about, discuss, and tend to our bodies.
A narrative that spans the year of racial reckoning (that wasn't), It’s Always Been Ours is an incisive blend of historical documents, contemporary writing, and narratives of clients, friends, and celebrities that examines the politics of body liberation. Wilson argues that our culture’s fixation on thin, white women reinscribes racist ideas about Black women's bodies and ways of being in the world as "too much." For Wilson, this white supremacist, capitalist undergirding in wellness movements perpetuates a culture of respectability and restriction that force Black women to perform unhealthy forms of resilience and strength at the expense of their physical and psychological needs.
With just the right mix of wit, levity, and wisdom, Wilson shows us how a radical reimagining of body narratives is a prerequisite to well-being. It’s Always Been Ours is a love letter that celebrates Black women’s bodies and shows us a radical and essential path forward to rediscovering their vulnerability and joy.
Conspirituality takes a deep dive into the troubling phenomenon of influencers who have curdled New Age spirituality and wellness with the politics of paranoia—peddling vaccine misinformation, tales of child trafficking, and wild conspiracy theories.
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, a disturbing social media trend emerged: a large number of yoga instructors and alt-health influencers were posting stories about a secretive global cabal bent on controlling the world’s population with a genocidal vaccine. Instagram feeds that had been serving up green smoothie recipes and Mary Oliver poems became firehoses of Fox News links, memes from 4chan, and prophecies of global transformation.
Since May 2020, Derek Beres, Matthew Remski and Julian Walker have used their Conspirituality podcast to expose countless facets of the intersection of alt-health practitioners with far-right conspiracy trolls. Now this expansive and revelatory book unpacks the follies, frauds, cons and cults that dominate the New Age and wellness spheres and betray the trust of people who seek genuine relief in this uncertain age.
With analytical rigor and irreverent humor, Conspirituality offers an antidote to our times, helping readers recognize wellness grifts, engage with loved ones who've fallen under the influence, and counter lies and distortions with insight and empathy.
An enthralling and original first novel about exile, diaspora, and the impossibility of Black refuge in America and beyond.
In the morning, I received a phone call and was told to board a flight. The arrangements had been made on my behalf. I packed no clothes, because my clothes had been packed for me. A car arrived to pick me up.
A man returns home to sub-Saharan Africa after twenty-six years in America. When he arrives, he finds that he doesn’t recognize the country or anyone in it. Thankfully, someone recognizes him, a man who calls him brother—setting him on a quest to find his real brother, who is dying.
In Hangman, Maya Binyam tells the story of that search, and of the phantoms, guides, tricksters, bureaucrats, debtors, taxi drivers, relatives, and riddles that will lead to the truth.
This is an uncommonly assured debut: an existential journey; a tragic farce; a slapstick tragedy; and a strange, and strangely honest, story of one man’s stubborn quest to find refuge—in this world and in the world that lies beyond it.
#book recommendations#jessica wilson#derek beres#matthew remski#julian walker#maya binyam#black women's health#spirituality#conspiracy#literary fiction#south african novels
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'Hangman' by Maya Binyam - An Exasperating Yet Profound Read
‘Hangman’ by Maya Binyam (2023) – 194 pages
I struggled with this novel. So much of it made little sense to me, but every once in a while there would be a stunningly original insight that would redeem my efforts to comprehend what was going on.
‘Hangman’ is a novel that pushes the boundaries of fiction. A word that is often used in the reviews for ‘Hangman’ is “enigmatic”. Perhaps my…
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Narrative is one of many tariffs that the world exacts from the uprooted. But what happens when the vagaries of displacement don’t add up to a story, or at least not one that its subject is willing to tell?
—Review of Maya Binyam's Hangman by Julian Lucas
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The Couch Had Nothing To Do With Me
“The couch was me, which was part of the problem: it reflected back to me how little I knew about my own desires.”
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2023/01/30/the-couch-had-nothing-to-do-with-me/
#Home Improvements#couches#Craigslist#Featured#furniture#home improvements#Maya Binyam#The Paris Review
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The cancellation of the 2024 World Voices festival reminded me that I meant to make a post about this last week, when PEN America announced that it could not hold its annual literary award ceremony because so many authors and translators had withdrawn their submissions. I don’t doubt that there's another post of this sort making the rounds, but since the ceremony was going to be tomorrow, I wanted to celebrate the literary achievements of every Finalist with a demonstrable backbone.
This is a list of writers who acted with integrity by withdrawing their work from the American subset of PEN International, an organization which has served as a bridge between literature and human rights for over a century. PEN America has largely built its reputation by supporting persecuted writers, and has let down the entire international literary community by failing to take a meaningful public stance against the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.
The following titles have been withdrawn from consideration at the request of the authors and translators:
PEN/Jean Stein Book Award
To a book-length work of any genre for its originality, merit, and impact, which has broken new ground by reshaping the boundaries of its form and signaling strong potential for lasting influence.
Hangman by Maya Binyam
Biography of X by Catherine Lacey
Poem Bitten by a Man by Brian Teare
Blackouts by Justin Torres
PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection
To an author whose debut collection of short stories represents distinguished literary achievement and suggests great promise for future work.
The Sorrow of Others by Ada Zhang
PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel
To a debut novel of exceptional literary merit.
Promise by Rachel Eliza Griffiths
Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang
PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry Collection
To a poet whose distinguished collection of poetry represents a notable and accomplished literary presence.
Couplets by Maggie Millner
suddenly we by Evie Shockley
PEN Translation Prize
From From by Monica Youn
For a book-length translation of poetry from any language into English.
Owlish by Dorothy Tse translated from the Chinese by Natascha Bruce
Trash by Sylvia Aguilar-Zéleny translated from the Spanish by J.D. Pluecker
#there's a lot more to it. i can't go into detail but it's been a fucking shitshow these past 4 months. it did NOT have to be this way.#so many people reached out to them with patience and grace but they just kept on keeping on.#the nerve of thinking writers would still show up to collect their cereal box prizes. the NERVE of trying to go ahead with World Voices.#naturally their big gala is still on so do please show up for the cocktail reception at 6PM at the natural history museum on thursday 5/16#resources#gaza
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Books by BIPOC Authors August 2023
🦇 I grew up surrounded by a melting pot of cultures, diverse communities, and unique experiences. Despite the different sources of those multicultural voices, their stories still covered universal topics of colonialism, migration, identity, and race. Each story was another flavor, another sweet spice adding to that melting pot. Today, we have books by BIPOC authors that put those unique voices to the page. If you're interested in traveling to different worlds, whether familiar or foreign, here are a few books by BIPOC authors to add to your TBR! 🦇
✨ Tomb Sweeping by Alexandra Chang
✨ The Dark Place by Britney S. Lewis
✨ Forged by Blood by Ehigbor Okuson
✨ Accidentally in Love by Danielle Jackson
✨ A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power
✨ Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel, translated by Rosalind Harvey
✨ The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America by Kathryn J. Edin, H. Luke Shaefer, Timothy J. Nelson
✨ Hangman by Maya Binyam
✨ The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (Historical Fiction)
✨ Under the Tamarind Tree by Nigar Alam
✨ Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
✨ An American Immigrant by Johanna Rojas Vann
🧭 Forgive Me Not by Jennifer Baker
🧭 Two Tribes by Emily Bowen Cohen
🧭 A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Street to the Stars by Hakeem Oluseyi and Joshua Horwitz
🧭 Writing in Color: Fourteen Writers on the Lessons We've Learned (edited by) Nafiza Azad and Melody Simpson
🧭 Ghost Book by Remy Lai
🧭 The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang
🧭 Plantains and Our Becoming by Melania Luisa Marte
🧭 Forty Words for Love by Aisha Saeed
🧭 The Great White Bard: How to Love Shakespeare While Talking About Race by Farah Karim-Cooper
🧭 Take the Long Way Home by Rochelle Alers
🧭 Swim Home to the Vanished by Brendan Shay Basham
🧭 Actually Super by Adi Alsaid
✨ Never a Hero by Vanessa Len
✨ I Fed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me by Jamison Shea
✨ The Infinity Particle by Wendy Xu
✨ Night of the Living Queers, edited by Shelly Page
✨ Sign of the Slayer by Sharina Harris
✨ Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim
✨ My Father the Panda Killer by Jamie Jo Hoang
✨ Barely Floating by Lilliam Rivera
✨Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
✨ A Tall Dark Trouble by Vanessa Montalban
✨ Neverwraith by Shakir Rashaan
✨ House of Marionne by J. Elle
#books#book list#book recommendation#bipoc#bipoc stories#support bipoc#batty about books#battyaboutbooks
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books available at my local library;
the last pomegranate, bachtyar ali
names for light: a family history, thirii myo kyaw myint
disorientation, elaine hsieh chou
palestine +100, ed. basma ghalayini
blackouts, justin torres
hangman, maya binyam
brotherless night, v. v. ganeshananthan
tremor, teju cole
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1 and 26 and 46 for meeeeee :)
1. Name the best book you've read so far this year.
This year has yet to be particularly exciting for me but assuming any type of book counts and only including things I've finished let's go with Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry by John Murillo. Ruled. Honorable mention also to I Embrace You With All My Revolutionary Fervor, the Che Guevara letters collection I really really loved that one
26. Favorite novella(s).
Man I am NOT really a novellas guy and if I answered the Branderson one I like I'd be hanged for it. OH ACTUALLY! This is super a copout but Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower :)
46. I like _____, recommend me a book to read, please (insert a book, or trope, or character, or... anything you like before asking for this one).
Well I of course have the same issue here as you do with me but, in order of sincerity: I haven't finished the new Hanif yet but I do think you'll love it. I think you might find Hangman by Maya Binyam interesting and Might like it more than me and I frankly did enjoy it. And have you heard of a weird indie little book called Exordia --
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I'm currently awake cuz I'm sick (again, I'm always sick) so thought I might as well say I've been on a reading kick lately and I recommend reading Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart and Hangman by Maya Binyam.
#Currently reading a David Mitchell book#He's clearly a good writer but the MC leaves me completely cold dunno if that was the aim there
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Women's Prize for Fiction 2024
The Women’s Prize for Fiction is the greatest celebration of female creativity in the world.
The judging panel for the 2024 prize is chaired by author Monica Ali. She is joined by author Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀; author and illustrator Laura Dockrill; actor Indira Varma; and presenter and author Anna Whitehouse.
The longlist titles announced today are:
Hangman by Maya Binyam
In Defence of the Act by Effie Black
And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott
The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright
The Maiden by Kate Foster
Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan
Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy
8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster by Mirinae Lee
The Blue, Beautiful World by Karen Lord
Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan
River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure
A Trace of Sun by Pam Williams
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The Women's Prize for Fiction Longlist is here!
Tonight is the night! The announcement of the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist is such an exciting day. It is, as many book lovers call it, Bookish Christmas, as we're presented with 16 books that have been judged to be examples of fantastic female writing. Looks like it's going to be a good year!
The Women's Prize for Fiction is an annual book prize that is open to any full-length novel originally written in English by a woman. This year, books must have been published in the UK between 1st April 2023 and 31st March 2024. I have been following the prize for at least five or six years now and my favourite thing about it is that it often introduces me to books that I've never heard of and possibly wouldn't have picked up otherwise. I cannot explain how exciting that is to me and I know that some of you feel the same too.
So, here is this year's longlist!
A Trace Of Sun by Pam Williams.
Published by Legend Press on 1st March 2024.
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan.
Published by Vintage on 13th July 2023.
Hangman by Maya Binyam.
Published by Pushkin ONE on 3rd August 2023.
Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy.
Published by Faber & Faber on 2nd May 2023.
The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright.
Published by Vintage on 31st August 2023.
The Maiden by Kate Foster.
Published by Mantle on 27th April 2023.
8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster by Miranae Lee.
Published by Virago on 4th May 2023.
Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie.
Published by Oneworld on 13th June 2023.
In Defence of the Act by Effie Black.
Published by époque Press on 13th July 2023.
Western Lane by Chetna Maroo.
Published by Picador on 11th May 2023.
Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville.
Published by Canongate Books on 2nd November 2023.
River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure.
Published by Duckworth on 25th January 2024.
Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan.
Published by Viking on 29th June 2023.
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad.
Published by Vintage on 6th April 2023.
The Blue, Beautiful World by Karen Lord.
Published by Gollancz on 31st August 2023.
And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott.
Published by Allen and Unwin on 28th September 2023.
I am delighted to know that I own half of them, which means I can get started on reading them as soon as possible. However, I have currently read zero, so I have a lot to read!
I think a lot of people will be surprised to see some big names omitted from this list, as Zadie Smith, Ann Patchett, Naomi Alderman and Jesmyn Ward all had eligible novels. I watched quite a few prediction videos and I don't think I saw anyone get more than two or three of these right, so, it's certainly a year of surprises. However, for me that makes it even more exciting, as I probably wouldn't have read the half of the list that I don't own. I cannot wait to get stuck in!
The shortlist will be announced on 24th April and the winner will be announced along with the winner of the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction on 13th June.
What do you think of the longlist? How many have you read? How many are you interested in? Let me know!
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Antonio Velardo shares: In Banana Yoshimoto’s ‘The Premonition,’ Visions of a Lost Family by Maya Binyam
By Maya Binyam
Published in Japan in 1988, this novel follows a 19-year-old daughter in a happy family who starts to wonder if they are not really hers.
Published: October 8, 2023 at 05:00AM
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860. Maya Binyam
Maya Binyam is the author of the debut novel Hangman, available from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
Binyam is a fiction writer and critic whose work has appeared in The Paris Review, The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, New York, Bookforum, Columbia Journalism Review, The New York Times Book Review, and elsewhere. She is a contributing editor at The Paris Review and has previously worked as an editor at Triple Canopy and The New Inquiry. She lives in Los Angeles.
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Book Review: ‘Hangman,’ by Maya Binyam
bookjubilee.com http://dlvr.it/StDfhz
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