Uwem Akpan's stunning stories humanize the perils of poverty and violence so piercingly that few readers will feel they've ever encountered africa so immediately. The eight-year-old narrator of "An ex-mas feast" Needs on...Uwem Akpan's stunning stories humanize the perils of poverty and violence so piercingly that few readers will feel they've ever encountered africa so immediately. The eight-year-old narrator of "An ex-mas feast" Needs only enough money to buy books and pay fees in order to attend school.