After all, as one character points out, happiness is like water if “we’re always trying to grab onto it, but it’s always slipping through our fingers.” What you will find, however, are some tenderly written stories about Nigerian women, sometimes in the US or in Nigeria, grappling with the demands made of them in a racist, sexist, and homophobic world. Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary R.It’s perhaps best to begin with the fact that happiness you won’t find much in Chinelo Okparanta’s short story collection Happiness, Like Water.

The Last Girlfriend on Earth and Other Love Storie.The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchannan.

Mouse Bird Snake Wolf by David Almond and Dave McKean.Happiness, Like Water by Chinelo Okparanta.The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker.Going to Vancouver for the Writers Fest October 22.Great energy on opening night at VWF 2013.Worst question from the audience ever at VWF 2013.The days are just packed at the VWF 2013.ethics/spirituality/conduct of life (15).Readalikes set in Africa: Daughters Who Walk this Path (Yejide Kilanko) No Sweetness Here (Ama Ata Aidoo) and similar intimate short stories from other parts of the world: The Best Place on Earth (Ayelet Tsabari) Canary (Nancy Jo Cullen) Monstress (Lysley Tenorio) Unaccustomed Earth(Jhumpa Lahiri) In Other Rooms, Other Wonders (Daniyal Mueenuddin). 'America' also has the most political content: the issue of environmental pollution from the petroleum industry in both Nigeria and USA. Two women fall in love in Nigeria, where 'there are penalties for that sort of thing.' But if one follows the other to the relative safety of being with each other in America, she risks the pain of leaving her beloved parents and homeland behind. Okparanta deftly captures complex emotions. The other is called 'America' and it's my favourite in the collection.

That excerpt is from 'Grace', one of two stories about lesbian relationships. 'We're always trying to grab onto it, but it's always slipping between our fingers.' She looks down at her hands. They are brave, humble and filled with longing, but true happiness seems beyond their reach. In her debut short story collection, Happiness, Like Water, Chinelo Okparanta writes tenderly about all kinds of Nigerian women.

Happiness like water