Will Ferguson
Hardcover | Pages: 393 pages Rating: 3.61 | 10795 Users | 1400 Reviews
Declare Books Toward 419
| ISBN: | 0670064718 (ISBN13: 9780670064717) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | Scotiabank Giller Prize (2012), Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award for Fiction Book (2013), Alberta Readers' Choice Award Nominee (2013) |
Narrative Supposing Books 419
A startlingly original tale of heartbreak and suspenseA car tumbles down a snowy ravine. Accident or suicide?
On the other side of the world, a young woman walks out of a sandstorm in sub-Saharan Africa. In the labyrinth of the Niger Delta, a young boy learns to survive by navigating through the gas flares and oil spills of a ruined landscape. In the seething heat of Lagos City, a criminal cartel scours the internet looking for victims.
Lives intersect, worlds collide, a family falls apart. And it all begins with a single email: “Dear Sir, I am the son of an exiled Nigerian diplomat, and I need your help ...”
419 takes readers behind the scene of the world’s most insidious internet scam. When Laura’s father gets caught up in one such swindle and pays with his life, she is forced to leave the comfort of North America to make a journey deep into the dangerous back streets and alleyways of the Lagos underworld to confront her father’s killer. What she finds there will change her life forever...
Identify About Books 419
| Title | : | 419 |
| Author | : | Will Ferguson |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 393 pages |
| Published | : | March 27th 2012 by Viking Canada (first published 2012) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Cultural. Canada. Africa. Mystery. Contemporary |
Rating About Books 419
Ratings: 3.61 From 10795 Users | 1400 ReviewsWeigh Up About Books 419
I finished 419 a week ago and it still haunts me. I have no doubt that it will continue to do so for a very long time. Its one of those extraordinary novels that vibrate and resonate with sharp-focus imagery and fictitious characters that could walk right off the page. From its opening line to its final word, the story is drenched in conflict and intrigue. Separate story lines and common themes volley back and forth between Alberta, Canadian and Nigerian locations, culminating in a toxic brew of[Canadian Giller Prize Winner 2012]. Good concept but a little too concept (all the way to calling it 419, which has a whiff of dystopian global SF about it at first). Its rather let down by its character development and plot structure, which (I hate saying this) do feel first novel and meant it struggled to satisfy. Im a little surprised this one beat Alix Ohlins Inside. Now, you can tell Will Ferguson is a travel writer. Hes done his Nigeria homework and thats the books great strength. Hes
Would you die for your child?This is the only question a parent needs to answer; everything else flows from this. In the kiln-baked emptiness of thorn-bush deserts. In mangrove swamps and alpine woods. In city streets and snowfalls. It is the only question that needs answering.The boy's father, knee deep in warm mud, was pulling hard on fishing nets that were splashing with life. Mist on greens waters. Sunlight on tidal pools. Unbelievable but true: Just last night, my husband showed me an
I finally break with a long string of novels about family dysfunction and land in a city that I think is supposed to be Calgary - somewhere in Alberta, anyway - and Nigeria: ranked 162 of 190 on the UNDP's Human Development Index and dead last on the list of countries The Economist recently reported a baby would best be born in, in 2013. Ferguson's 2012 Giller-prize winning novel brings West Africa (or at least a sliver of it) to life through the cesspool of desperation, greed and poverty that
I am not sure that it was my favourite book on the Giller list, but I enjoyed reading it. I appreciated the complexity of the interrelated stories and especially all the different threads of Nigeria that were depicted. In the acknowledgments Ferfuson suggests that this was based on a true story. I would be curious to know more about the true story.
419 is very interesting. I knew almost nothing about Nigeria going into it and now I feel some real sympathy for their people and plight. I'm always in awe with books that can take me to real life locations and make me feel like I've been there or have a new understanding of that place. A section of the story takes place in my home city of Calgary (Canada). It's a bit odd to read about landmarks and roads I know so well (author Will Ferguson lives here himself) but also a little exciting. Right
Dear Mr. Ferguson,My compliments on writing a very good book that gives much enlightenment to the challenges we face here in Nigeria! I am myself a student of creative writing and I appreciate the questions raised in your book which - in my opinion, lead the reader to think deeply on the subjects of greed, loyalty and guilt. In particular I have thought much about what we mean by the word "guilty". You are very good at creating characters we readers my care and believe in (with the exception,
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