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How to Read the Air by Dinaw Mengestu — book cover

How to Read the Air

by Dinaw Mengestu

Ernest J. · 2011 · Winner
Riverhead BooksLiterary FictionISBN 9781594487705

Award History

About This Book

Jonas Woldemariam retraces his Ethiopian immigrant parents' road trip across America, weaving together their story of displacement and his own unraveling marriage. A meditation on the narratives we construct to make sense of our origins. Winner of the 2011 Ernest J. Gaines Award.

About the Author

Dinaw Mengestu is an Ethiopian-American novelist and MacArthur Fellow. His novels include The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, How to Read the Air, and All Our Names. He is a professor of English at Georgetown University.

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