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The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears

Author Dinaw Mengestu
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Paperback
$17.00 US
Penguin Adult HC/TR | Riverhead Books
On sale Feb 05, 2008 | 240 Pages | 978-1-59448-285-4
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  • All-School Reads > Life Stories > Global Perspectives > African Voices & Stories
  • College & University Reads > Life Stories > Global Perspectives > African Voices & Stories
  • College & University Reads > NEA Big Reads
  • Community Reads > Life Stories > Global Perspectives > African Voices & Stories
  • Community Reads > Life Stories > Immigrant, First-generation and Refugee Voices & Stories
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  • About
  • Awards
  • Author
  • Guides
Seventeen years ago, Sepha Stephanos fled the Ethiopian Revolution for a new start in the United States. Now he finds himself running a failing grocery store in a poor African-American section of Washington, D.C., his only companions two fellow African immigrants who share his bitter nostalgia and longing for his home continent. Years ago and worlds away Sepha could never have imagined a life of such isolation. As his environment begins to change, hope comes in the form of a friendship with new neighbors Judith and Naomi, a white woman and her biracial daughter. But when a series of racial incidents disturbs the community, Sepha may lose everything all over again.

Watch a QuickTime interview with Dinaw Mengestu about this book.
  • WINNER
    Dylan Thomas Prize
  • WINNER
    Guardian First Book Award
  • WINNER
    Lannan Literary Fellowship
  • WINNER
    Los Angeles Times Book Prize
  • WINNER
    New York Times Notable Book
  • WINNER
    Prix du Premier Roman
  • WINNER
    Young Lions Award
  • FINALIST
    NAACP Image Award
© Michael Lionstar
Dinaw Mengestu is the award-winning author of two previous novels, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears (2007) and How to Read the Air (2010). He is a graduate of Georgetown University and of Columbia University’s M.F.A. program in fiction and the recipient of a 5 Under 35 award from the National Book Foundation and a 20 Under 40 award from The New Yorker. His journalism and fiction have appeared in such publications as Harper’s Magazine, Granta, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, and The Wall Street Journal. He is a recipient of a 2012 MacArthur Foundation genius grant and currently lives in New York City. View titles by Dinaw Mengestu
Discussion Guide for The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears

Provides questions, discussion topics, suggested reading lists, introductions and/or author Q&As, which are intended to enhance reading groups’ experiences.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

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About

Seventeen years ago, Sepha Stephanos fled the Ethiopian Revolution for a new start in the United States. Now he finds himself running a failing grocery store in a poor African-American section of Washington, D.C., his only companions two fellow African immigrants who share his bitter nostalgia and longing for his home continent. Years ago and worlds away Sepha could never have imagined a life of such isolation. As his environment begins to change, hope comes in the form of a friendship with new neighbors Judith and Naomi, a white woman and her biracial daughter. But when a series of racial incidents disturbs the community, Sepha may lose everything all over again.

Watch a QuickTime interview with Dinaw Mengestu about this book.

Awards

  • WINNER
    Dylan Thomas Prize
  • WINNER
    Guardian First Book Award
  • WINNER
    Lannan Literary Fellowship
  • WINNER
    Los Angeles Times Book Prize
  • WINNER
    New York Times Notable Book
  • WINNER
    Prix du Premier Roman
  • WINNER
    Young Lions Award
  • FINALIST
    NAACP Image Award

Author

© Michael Lionstar
Dinaw Mengestu is the award-winning author of two previous novels, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears (2007) and How to Read the Air (2010). He is a graduate of Georgetown University and of Columbia University’s M.F.A. program in fiction and the recipient of a 5 Under 35 award from the National Book Foundation and a 20 Under 40 award from The New Yorker. His journalism and fiction have appeared in such publications as Harper’s Magazine, Granta, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, and The Wall Street Journal. He is a recipient of a 2012 MacArthur Foundation genius grant and currently lives in New York City. View titles by Dinaw Mengestu

Guides

Discussion Guide for The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears

Provides questions, discussion topics, suggested reading lists, introductions and/or author Q&As, which are intended to enhance reading groups’ experiences.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

Read More

Additional formats

  • The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
    The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
    Dinaw Mengestu
    978-1-101-21756-6
    Ebook
  • The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
    The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
    Dinaw Mengestu
    978-1-101-21756-6
    Ebook
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