Hangman | Maya Binyam | Literary Fiction | Book Review

 

Name of Book : Hangman

Author : Maya Binyam

Publisher : Farrar, Straus & Giroux / One

Publication Date : August 8, 2023

No. of Pages : 210

Format : Digital

A man returns home to sub-Saharan Africa after twenty-six years living in exile in America. When he arrives, he finds that he doesn't recognize the country or anyone in it. Thankfully, someone at the airport knows him—a man who calls him brother. As they travel to this man's house, the purpose of his visit comes into focus: he is here to find his real brother, who is dying.

Hangman is his tragicomic journey through homecoming and loss. It is a hilarious and twisted odyssey, peopled by phantoms and tricksters, aid workers and taxi drivers, the relatives and riddles that lead this man along a circuitous path towards the truth. This is the strangely honest story of one man's search for refuge—in this world and the one that lies beyond it.

Hangman by Maya Binyam is available on Amazon : 

Kindle

Hardcover

Paperback

Maya Binyam is a writer 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 in many other publications. She is a contributing editor at the Paris Review and has previously worked as an editor at Triple Canopy and the New Inquiry, and as a lecturer in the New School’s Creative Publishing and Critical Journalism program. She lives in Los Angeles.

My Opinion

Hangman by Maya Binyam is a very artistic work of writing which I have read for the very first time. I heard a lot about the book and read it as a part of #52booksin52weeks . Reading Hangman was a totally different experience for me. It's writing style is based on "Screeds" which means a long speech.

There were a few key moments which throws light on the political and social situation of sub - Saharan Africa. But, at few places I thought the conversations were too much stretched and had no relevance. It is my first time reading Screeds. I don't think I would be reading this again. Also, the book does not have any ending, it just stops. I would give the book only 3 stars.

• Characters ------------------ ⭐⭐⭐
• Atmosphere ---------------- ⭐⭐⭐
• Writing Style -------------- ⭐⭐⭐
• Plot ------------------------- ⭐⭐⭐
• Intrigue -------------------- ⭐⭐⭐
• Logic ---------------------- ⭐⭐⭐
• Enjoyment ---------------- ⭐⭐⭐