How to Read the Air (2010) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

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Summary edit see section history

Characters/People edit see section history

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• Angela: At the beginning of the book, Jonas'-i.e. narrator's-wife. A lawyer. African.
• Abrahim: Allegedly, the only friend that Jonas' father had while the man lived in Sudan. According to the narrative given to Jonas' students, Abahim established Yosef as a tea seller. Abrahim spoke English fluently, "was several inches shorter and better dressed than most of the other men," and "was bald with the exception of two graying tufts of hair that arced between his ears."
• Jonas Woldemariam: The narrator. African. Son of immigrants. Reserved, quiet.
• Bill: A middle-aged lawyer for refugees at a firm where Jonas, the narrator of How to Read the Air, worked and met his wife, Angela. Bill was a refugee himself and had great esteem and earned a mutual response from his clients.
• Dinaw Mengesm: Add a description of this character.
• Andrew: A senior partner at the law firm where Angela works. Andrew boasted helping Jonas, the narrator, find work teaching at a New York academy after Jonas had lost his job with the refugee firm.
• Yosef: The narrator's father. An immigrant from Addis, Sudan, Africa. Full name: Yosef Getachew Woldemariam.
• Mariam: The narrator's mother. An African immigrant.
• Dr. Alemiyahu: The man responsible for introducing Yosef and Mariam, the narrator's parents.
• Bill: A friend of Angela and Jonas. The husband of Nasareen.
• Nasareen: A friend of Angela and Jonas. The wife of Bill

Setting & Locations edit see section history

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• America: Specifically the United States. The destination of immigration for the narrator's father, mother, and other refugees
• Sudan: The country which Yosef, the narrator's father, first migrated to from his homeland en route to Europe and then North America.
• New York: Where Jonas, the narrator of How to Read the Air, lives before, during, and after his marriage to Angela.
• Addis: Yosef, the narrator's father had immigrated from Addis.
• Europe: A continent in which the narrator's father temporarily resided during his migration from Africa to North America
• Africa: The continent containing many countries, including Sudan and Ethiopia, the latter of which was the birthplace of the narrator's parents.
• Ethiopia: The homeland of the narrator's parents.
• Nashville: At the beginning of the story, How to Read the Air, the narrator's parents embark for Nashville, Tennessee.
• Chicago: A location of peripheral importance to the story: it serves as a passing point for both the narrator and his mother at different points in separate journeys
• Monte Carlo: More like a "what" than a "where." The narrator's father drives a Monte Carlo--specifically a seven-year old and red model.
• London: A location where the narrator's mother passed through during her migration from Africa to North America
• Manhattan: At one point, the narrator's home in New York.
• Missouri: A location of significant import along the path the narrator's parents took to Nashville, Tennessee.
• Tennessee: U.S. state containing Nashville, the destination of the narrator's parents in the story.
• Khartoum: The capital of Sudan. During the narrative, How to Read the Air, it was attacked by rebel soldiers, preempting the narrator's father to immigrate.
• Illinois: Where the narrator's parents live at the beginning of How to Read the Air--the location in which they live after moving to the United States.
• Peoria: Peoria, Illinois. The town where the narrator's parents live and from where they embark to initiate their trip to Nashville, Tennessee.
• Italy: Before arriving in the United States, the narrator's father had lived briefly in Italy.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Dinaw Mengestu (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Amazon Best of the Month (October 2010, #7)
• Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (2010: Fiction)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 813.6

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary