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Available
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Publication
Vintage (2015), Edition: Reprint, 272 pages
Description
An unforgettable love story about a searing affair between an American woman and an African man in 1970s America and an unflinching novel about the fragmentation of lives that straddle countries and histories. All Our Names is the story of two young men who come of age during an African revolution, drawn from the safe confines of the university campus into the intensifying clamor of the streets outside. But as the line between idealism and violence becomes increasingly blurred, the friends are driven apart--one into the deepest peril, as the movement gathers inexorable force, and the other into the safety of exile in the American Midwest. There, pretending to be an exchange student, he falls in love with a social worker and settles into small-town life. Yet this idyll is inescapably darkened by the secrets of his past: the acts he committed and the work he left unfinished. Most of all, he is haunted by the beloved friend he left behind, the charismatic leader who first guided him to revolution and then sacrificed everything to ensure his freedom. Elegiac, blazing with insights about the physical and emotional geographies that circumscribe our lives, All Our Names is a marvel of vision and tonal command. Writing within the grand tradition of Naipul, Greene, and Achebe, Mengestu gives us a political novel that is also a transfixing portrait of love and grace, of self-determination and the names we are given and the names we earn.--Publisher's description.… (more)
Media reviews
Dinaw Mengestu continues to explore the violent uprooting and uneasy exile of his two previous novels, Children of the Revolution and How to Read the Air, in what is his most impressive examination yet of the African diaspora. At its heart lie two impassioned love stories, divergently expressed and
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played out.
Mengestu’s style is restrained, but his scope is vast – moving between the stunning East African landscape, where even the splendour of the sunset is a portent, to an introverted Illinois, a microcosm of America’s collective guilt at the aftermath of the disastrous war in Vietnam and its reluctance to accept a post-segregation society.
Worlds on a cusp, powerfully drawn: notable above all is Mengestu’s desperately moving portrait of a compromised friendship. Show Less
What's fascinating about All Our Names is the unsettling way it engages with history – both the history of Uganda and literary history. Those with the right knowledge will be able to place this novel in an exact historical context, but that's rather beside the point. This is a book trying to pull
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away from fixed dates and places just as Helen's Isaac is trying to locate his sense of self without reference to location or the events of his past. Show Less
For with “All Our Names,” he has grounded his search in a story so straightforward but at the same time so mysterious that you can’t turn the pages fast enough, and when you’re done, your first impulse is to go back to the beginning and start over.
“All Our Names” is an immigrant story from a writer fully conscious that he’s working in a genre as crowded as Ellis Island. What he presents here is tantalizingly laconic — long on mood, short on details — an attempt to represent the conflicted emotions of someone who has survived the
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loss of his family, his friends, his country, his identity. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member mabith
I received this as an audiobook through the Early Reviewer program. The readers were good (Saskia Maarleveld and Korey Jackson), one for each of the main characters, reading their various sections, but I wonder if there wasn't a more appropriate choice for Helen's sections. The reader is a woman
The book follows two young men involved in the revolution in Uganda during the 1970s, who take different paths, and a young woman in Kansas. One becoming a more and more ardent revolutionary and the other seeking asylum in the guise of an exchange student in the American midwest. There he and his social worker Helen form a passionate but rocky relationship amid racism and ignorance of the other's true self.
It was an excellent book, one about the world and our lives and interactions with others, without a huge climax or firm conclusion. Our lives so rarely give us neat plot arcs, and I enjoys books without them. Both characters were written so well and felt completely real. It is neither a book that you will want to race through, eager to see the conclusion nor a book that you will need to take slowly. A good medium read to make you think.
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raised in New Zealand and France, known for her ability with accents. I will always prefer that readers naturally have the accent the book demands or have some connection to that accent, rather than just be good at mimicking it. I could not find a profile of Korey Jackson. They were both good readers, though.The book follows two young men involved in the revolution in Uganda during the 1970s, who take different paths, and a young woman in Kansas. One becoming a more and more ardent revolutionary and the other seeking asylum in the guise of an exchange student in the American midwest. There he and his social worker Helen form a passionate but rocky relationship amid racism and ignorance of the other's true self.
It was an excellent book, one about the world and our lives and interactions with others, without a huge climax or firm conclusion. Our lives so rarely give us neat plot arcs, and I enjoys books without them. Both characters were written so well and felt completely real. It is neither a book that you will want to race through, eager to see the conclusion nor a book that you will need to take slowly. A good medium read to make you think.
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LibraryThing member writestuff
I had lost too much of the heart and all the faith needed to stay afloat in a job where every human encounter felt like an anvil strung around my neck just when I thought I was nearing the shore. - from All Our Names -
Isaac is a young black man living in Uganda in the 1970s during the cruel reign
Helen is a white social worker living in the Mid-West and is assigned to help Isaac acclimate to a new life in the United States – a challenge given the underpinnings of racism and intolerance still rife within her community.
Neither Isaac nor Helen are prepared when their relationship moves from formality into intimacy. Passionate, secretive and ultimately life-changing, the connection between Helen and Isaac fuels the narrative of a man struggling to come to grips with his identity in the aftermath of terror.
All Our Names is a compelling story that is haunting in its truths, but also in its secrets. Who is Isaac? What has brought him thousands of miles from his home in Africa to the relative safety of the United States?
As the novel moves back and forth from Helen’s point of view to Isaac’s, and from the past to the present, it becomes clear that a man’s name does not reveal who he is, nor what his future holds. Helen struggles to understand her feelings for this man of secrets, and she begins to challenge the unspoken taboo against mixed-race couples.
The fact that we chose to sit there and linger when every part of me wanted to run was proof of the sacrifices we were willing to make. When we left the restaurant and were back in the car, he said to me, “Now you know. This is how they break you, slowly, in pieces.” - From All Our Names -
All Our Names is about the history of a conflicted nation during a time of great unrest, but it is also about the importance of family and our connections with others. Dinaw Mengestu takes the reader into the slums of Kampala and into the hearts of men who refuse to accept tyranny, even when it means they may lose everything. And in lyrical prose he shows how those hearts can be healed through the power of love.
I listened to this novel which was narrated by Saskia Maarleveld (as Helen) and Korey Jackson (as Isaac). Although it began slowly for me, the narration pulled me into the story and left me breathless at the end.
Highly recommended.
Isaac is a young black man living in Uganda in the 1970s during the cruel reign
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of Idi Amin. He is a man with dreams of revolution and freedom, a man whose charisma draws others to him.Helen is a white social worker living in the Mid-West and is assigned to help Isaac acclimate to a new life in the United States – a challenge given the underpinnings of racism and intolerance still rife within her community.
Neither Isaac nor Helen are prepared when their relationship moves from formality into intimacy. Passionate, secretive and ultimately life-changing, the connection between Helen and Isaac fuels the narrative of a man struggling to come to grips with his identity in the aftermath of terror.
All Our Names is a compelling story that is haunting in its truths, but also in its secrets. Who is Isaac? What has brought him thousands of miles from his home in Africa to the relative safety of the United States?
As the novel moves back and forth from Helen’s point of view to Isaac’s, and from the past to the present, it becomes clear that a man’s name does not reveal who he is, nor what his future holds. Helen struggles to understand her feelings for this man of secrets, and she begins to challenge the unspoken taboo against mixed-race couples.
The fact that we chose to sit there and linger when every part of me wanted to run was proof of the sacrifices we were willing to make. When we left the restaurant and were back in the car, he said to me, “Now you know. This is how they break you, slowly, in pieces.” - From All Our Names -
All Our Names is about the history of a conflicted nation during a time of great unrest, but it is also about the importance of family and our connections with others. Dinaw Mengestu takes the reader into the slums of Kampala and into the hearts of men who refuse to accept tyranny, even when it means they may lose everything. And in lyrical prose he shows how those hearts can be healed through the power of love.
I listened to this novel which was narrated by Saskia Maarleveld (as Helen) and Korey Jackson (as Isaac). Although it began slowly for me, the narration pulled me into the story and left me breathless at the end.
Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member elkiedee
There are two intertwined stories in this novel, which alternates between two first person narrators, a Ugandan man called Isaac and Helen, a social worker from a small town in the American Midwest. Originally he is one of her cases, a refreshing change from the sadness of working with clients with
Isaac’s story is one of his past, and of a close friendship between two university students, which will be tested by the upheavals of politics and civil war. Helen’s story is about coming to know Isaac, though I wondered at some points whether she actually does know very much about him, and where he’s come from.
The contrast between the two settings is sharp. While Laurel seems to be a peaceful place, Helen’s boss has some ominous warnings for her about racism and prejudice in that small semi-rural town.
A thought provoking and moving novel which left me wondering what would happen to the characters after I closed the book.
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terminal illnesses. They soon become friends, and then more.Isaac’s story is one of his past, and of a close friendship between two university students, which will be tested by the upheavals of politics and civil war. Helen’s story is about coming to know Isaac, though I wondered at some points whether she actually does know very much about him, and where he’s come from.
The contrast between the two settings is sharp. While Laurel seems to be a peaceful place, Helen’s boss has some ominous warnings for her about racism and prejudice in that small semi-rural town.
A thought provoking and moving novel which left me wondering what would happen to the characters after I closed the book.
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LibraryThing member ozzer
This remarkable novel is told from two perspectives: Isaac is a young African who is in the US on a student visa and Helen is a social worker who has been assigned to orient him to life in the small midwest town of Laurel. In the course of events, they develop a romantic relationship. Helen
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recollects her life in Laurel and Isaac remembers his village childhood, student days in Kampala and his experiences during the Ugandan revolution. The two plot lines superficially seem to be quite different: one represents life in insular middle America with little that seems exciting or particularly challenging, while the other tells of revolution, revolt, plotting and murder in Africa. In spite of these differences, Mengestu manages to effectively demonstrate the many subtle similarities between the two environments using universal themes of race, coming-of-age, rebellion, and love. He does not resolve these issues, but instead leaves the reader to speculate about how the two young people will cope with the challenges they face. Mengestu masterfully employs the alternating perspectives to demonstrate that dismissing the violence and cruelty that often exist in the third world as having little to do with life in America may be facile. Building tension in the African plot seems easy but Mengestu also manages to equally build mystery and tension in the American plot. Show Less
LibraryThing member Karen59
Gently written, riveting story of the trauma and aftermath of violence and war in Uganda. Isaac is a refugee attempting to build a future while also mourning his love of the Isaac left behind; of himself (Isaac) and his complex and deep friendship with his friend Isaac. As a social worker, the plot
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with Helen at first alienated me since it is illegal for social workers to have relationships with clients. However, the writing is so good and the characters so genuine that I very quickly accepted its premise and the love story that follows from it. Show Less
LibraryThing member annebrackens
I received this as an audiobook through the Early Reviewers program. I had read the hardback copy of the book prior to listening to the audiobook. I enjoyed the book much more than the audiobook. Helen's voice on the audiobook was very irritating. Her character on the page is much more intelligent
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and real than the reader's voice was able to replicate. I have read everything Dinaw Mengestu has published. He is a powerful author with a unique storytelling ability. His characters are interesting and captivating. I will donate this audiobook to my local library. Thank you for this program. Show Less
LibraryThing member eachurch
This is a beautifully written, memorizing tale of war, social upheaval, and love. Using two narratives, one set in Uganda, the other in the American Midwest, Mengestu, shows how difficult social change can be whether it is done peacefully or with violence. This novel is also a remarkable
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exploration of different kinds of friendship and love. Mengestu's writing is lovely---powerful and evocative. Show Less
LibraryThing member lisa875
All Our Names was a great story and well written. The book told the story from two perspectives and in two different times. A sheltered American woman told the story of how the couple met and their relationship in the early 1970's mid west. At the same time, the African man told the story of his
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experiences in a revolution in Africa with his best friend before he came to the midwest United States. So while we are seeing how difficult interracial relationships once were and the subtleties of hatred and bigotry in the U.S., we are seeing the brutality of an African revolution and the violence and death caused by it. The switching back and forth between times and perspectives was well done. It brought the two worlds, which are so different and yet exist at the same time, together in a way that is always true but still difficult to believe when you have only really seen or lived in one of these worlds. The story also illustrates that the desires of the people in these two worlds is the same: peace, security, education, acceptance, etc. It really was a beautiful book. I didn't love the reading by the character Helen when she did the male voices, particularly the voice of "Isaac". The voice was so well done by the male reader that when she did it it just sounded silly. Other than that, it's a great book and well worth the time to listen. Thanks to Library Things Early Reviewers for the chance to hear it! Show Less
LibraryThing member TomDonaghey
ALL OUR NAMES is probably too large a novel for me to grasp fully even though, at its heart, it is the story of three people. No, make that only two people. Told in an alternating sequence between our narrators Isaac and Helen, it is a story for people searching for themselves, for their real
We begin with Isaac, a young man whose has managed to come to Kampala, Uganda in the seventies, a time when much of Africa was throwing off the remains of colonialism and falling into the traps of the cult of personality. He has come to attend college but never makes into the ranks of the enrolled. Instead he links up with a young man he calls the Professor among many other names. Their stories combine into one as the year progresses and the real students not only start to become active in politics, but look to our two protagonists as leaders.
Then we switch to Helen, a social worker who is Isaac’s chaperone in the United States as he is welcomed under the guise of an exchange student. Their story, much like Isaac’s story in Africa, starts to wind the two together until they become lovers. She appears to be searching for who she is, uncertain and shy about tempting the fates, but Isaac invokes within her the ability to shed her past and begin a new type of life, one that goes against what she perceives society to be and into what society can be.
There is trouble of course; this is the 1970s after all.
Isaac’s tale in Uganda leads the pair into a quasi-paramilitary organization where Isaac’s natural abilities are quickly recognized and used for the doomed revolt. As things fall apart, both Isaac and the professor find themselves with fewer options until time runs out for one of them.
This is a story about perceptions and liberations and history, of throwing off the past and moving forward, of having everything you have taken away from, until all you have left is your name, and sometimes not even that.
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identity, possibly even finding it. We begin with Isaac, a young man whose has managed to come to Kampala, Uganda in the seventies, a time when much of Africa was throwing off the remains of colonialism and falling into the traps of the cult of personality. He has come to attend college but never makes into the ranks of the enrolled. Instead he links up with a young man he calls the Professor among many other names. Their stories combine into one as the year progresses and the real students not only start to become active in politics, but look to our two protagonists as leaders.
Then we switch to Helen, a social worker who is Isaac’s chaperone in the United States as he is welcomed under the guise of an exchange student. Their story, much like Isaac’s story in Africa, starts to wind the two together until they become lovers. She appears to be searching for who she is, uncertain and shy about tempting the fates, but Isaac invokes within her the ability to shed her past and begin a new type of life, one that goes against what she perceives society to be and into what society can be.
There is trouble of course; this is the 1970s after all.
Isaac’s tale in Uganda leads the pair into a quasi-paramilitary organization where Isaac’s natural abilities are quickly recognized and used for the doomed revolt. As things fall apart, both Isaac and the professor find themselves with fewer options until time runs out for one of them.
This is a story about perceptions and liberations and history, of throwing off the past and moving forward, of having everything you have taken away from, until all you have left is your name, and sometimes not even that.
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LibraryThing member philipivan
As appreciative as I am for receiving this audiobook from the Early Reviewers program, I was not particularly taken with it. Reviews generally have been pretty positive, but I found the book vaguely unsatisfying. While the parts that involved the revolution in Uganda which eventually brought Idi
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Amin (who is never mentioned) to power were certainly interesting, I have no context to know how well Mengestu captured the time and place. The sections in the American mid-west, however, did not strike me as particularly compelling. The characters were somewhat two dimensional and the plot line did not ring true. Show Less
LibraryThing member librolover54
I love audiobooks and enjoyed this one immensely. The characters are well developed and the narration was excellent. This was a good opportunity for me to know more about the continent of Africa and the struggles of an immigrant.
LibraryThing member jhoaglin
I usually enjoy books that alternate voices in the telling of the story, or that alternate time periods. All Our Names, by Dinaw Mengestu, does both; one narrator is an African immigrant, telling of the civil wars in his homeland in the 1960's, and the other is a young social worker with whom he
In this novel, neither of the characters is ever very developed. The story is really what held my interest, of his life and strifes in Uganda and Kampala, and their shaky biracial relationship during an era that was rampant with racism and blatant intolerance. However, neither story line seemed to have enough specific detail to really draw me into the plot. Overall, the novel was just too vague, and without a depth that would engage me more fully.
I won this audio edition of the book from LibraryThing.
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falls in love in the 1970's in North Carolina. In this novel, neither of the characters is ever very developed. The story is really what held my interest, of his life and strifes in Uganda and Kampala, and their shaky biracial relationship during an era that was rampant with racism and blatant intolerance. However, neither story line seemed to have enough specific detail to really draw me into the plot. Overall, the novel was just too vague, and without a depth that would engage me more fully.
I won this audio edition of the book from LibraryThing.
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LibraryThing member marcal
Mid-western social worker, who still lives at home with her widowed mother, has a relationship with an African man who is a visiting scholar and keeper of many secrets regarding his identity and his past. Set in a time when mixed race couples were taboo, particularly in the American midwest.
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Interesting flashbacks to politically turbulent Africa that teach us how "Isaac" arrived in his current situation. Show Less
LibraryThing member kcaroth1
All Our Names by Dinaw Mengestu has some beautifully written passages, and the chapters alternating between the two main characters, Isaac and Helen, works well for the story.
Helen is a social worker in the 70’s who wants to shake up the expectations of her white, middle-class upbringing. She is
This was an audio book version; these typically don’t keep my attention. This one did, and I enjoyed it enough that I will likely read other novels by this author (although, probably not in audio format).
Helen is a social worker in the 70’s who wants to shake up the expectations of her white, middle-class upbringing. She is
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assigned to help Isaac adapt to the United States. In Isaac’s chapters, he tells of his life in Africa, and his journey to a failed student uprising in Uganda. The parallels between the characters’ fights against the status quo, the importance of family , the need for human connections, and search for identity are made clear with the alternating view-point structure.This was an audio book version; these typically don’t keep my attention. This one did, and I enjoyed it enough that I will likely read other novels by this author (although, probably not in audio format).
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LibraryThing member mojomomma
Isaac immigrates from war-torn Uganda and lands in a small Midwestern town where Helen is assigned to him as his social worker. They fall for each other and Helen for the first time encounters racism. We hear about Isaac's involvement in the downfall of the government and how he came to immigrate.
LibraryThing member viviennestrauss
Such beautiful prose, and I felt like I was holding my breath from the beginning to the end.
LibraryThing member sleahey
Alternating chapters tell the stories of Helen and "Isaac;" Helen's are in the present of the 1970's, describing her relationship with Isaac, a refugee from Uganda, when she is assigned to help his adjustment to the small Midwestern college town. Isaac's are about his friendship with Isaac, whom he
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met during the days of political upheaval in Kampala. The differences in point of view, setting, and time can be distracting, but also result in a positive tension that urges the reader to find out what has happened and what will happen. Show Less
LibraryThing member TooBusyReading
This is one of those books I thought I would like, I wanted to like, and in the end, I just shook my head and walked away.
Stories of the revolutions in Africa can be riveting if also heartbreaking. This one was neither. There wasn't enough detail about the actual revolution to teach me anything
The story is told from two points of view: Helen and Isaac. “Helen” was told in first person, but I just didn't like the character. She was out to save the world but came across as a whiny self-made victim. She was clingy and wimpy and hard to like. The “Isaac” sections were told in third person about Isaac rather than by him, which seemed odd at first but was eventually explained.
Isaac was hard to like, too. He came across as an opportunist more than a true believer. He took advantage when he could, and admired people he shouldn't.
The romance felt anything but romantic. It felt like manipulation, but at least both people involved were doing the manipulating.
The story spans continents, and has the usual “emigrating to America” issues, but the characters never became real to me, and in the end, I just didn't care.
I was given an advance reader's copy of the book for review.
Stories of the revolutions in Africa can be riveting if also heartbreaking. This one was neither. There wasn't enough detail about the actual revolution to teach me anything
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new. It was all vague us/them conflicts.The story is told from two points of view: Helen and Isaac. “Helen” was told in first person, but I just didn't like the character. She was out to save the world but came across as a whiny self-made victim. She was clingy and wimpy and hard to like. The “Isaac” sections were told in third person about Isaac rather than by him, which seemed odd at first but was eventually explained.
Isaac was hard to like, too. He came across as an opportunist more than a true believer. He took advantage when he could, and admired people he shouldn't.
The romance felt anything but romantic. It felt like manipulation, but at least both people involved were doing the manipulating.
The story spans continents, and has the usual “emigrating to America” issues, but the characters never became real to me, and in the end, I just didn't care.
I was given an advance reader's copy of the book for review.
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LibraryThing member steller0707
This is the second book that I've read by this wonderful young writer, already recipient of multiple grants and the prestigious MacArthur Award. In this novel he again explores themes of the immigrant experience and multiracial relationships, and recounts the main character's tumultuous travels
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from his native village in Ethiopia, through revolution in Uganda and then to America. The story in these chapters alternate with those of his arrival in the US, his life in a small Midwestern town and his hope for the future. A terrific novel and beautifully written! Show Less
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2016)
Kirkus Prize (Finalist — Fiction — 2014)
CBC Bookie Awards (Nominee — 2015)
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Fiction — 2014)
NPR: Books We Love (2014)
Boston Globe Best Book (Fiction — 2014)
Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year (Literary Fiction — 2014)
San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year (Fiction — 2014)
Christian Science Monitor Best Book (Fiction — 2014)
Globe and Mail Top 100 Book (Fiction — 2014)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2014-03-04
Physical description
272 p.; 5.19 inches
ISBN
0345805666 / 9780345805669
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DDC/MDS
| 813.6 |