We Meant Well
Erum Shazia Hasan
Availability:
Ebook in EPUB format. Available for immediate download after we receive your order
Ebook in EPUB format. Available for immediate download after we receive your order
Publisher:
ECW Press
ECW Press
DRM:
Watermark
Watermark
Publication Year:
2023
2023
ISBN-13:
9781778520877
Description:
<p><b>Longlisted for the 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize </b></p>
<p><b>September 2023 selection for Great Group Reads by the Women’s National Book Association</b></p>
<p><b>“Unsparing and compassionate … A novel of harrowing eloquence, <i>We Meant Well</i> explores compelling cultural contrasts and the ambiguity of charitable outreach.” — <i>Foreword Reviews</i></b></p>
<p><b>A propulsive debut that grapples with timely questions about what it means to be charitable, who deserves what, and who gets the power to decide</b></p>
<p>It’s the middle of the night in Los Angeles when Maya, a married mother of one, receives the phone call. Her colleague Marc has been accused of assaulting a local girl in Likanni, where they operate a charitable orphanage. Can she get on the next flight?</p>
<p>When Maya arrives, protesters surround the compound. The accuser is Lele, her former protégé and the chief’s daughter. There are no witnesses, no proof of any crime.</p>
<p>What happened that night? And what will happen to the orphanage if this becomes a scandal? Caught between Marc and Lele, the charity and the villagers, her marriage and new temptations, and between worlds, Maya lives the secret contradictions of the aid worker: there to serve the most deprived, but ultimately there to govern.</p>
<p>As Maya feels the pleasures, freedoms, and humanity of life in Likanni, she recognizes that her American life is inextricably woven into this violent reality — and that dishonesty in one place affects the realities in another.</p>
<p><b>September 2023 selection for Great Group Reads by the Women’s National Book Association</b></p>
<p><b>“Unsparing and compassionate … A novel of harrowing eloquence, <i>We Meant Well</i> explores compelling cultural contrasts and the ambiguity of charitable outreach.” — <i>Foreword Reviews</i></b></p>
<p><b>A propulsive debut that grapples with timely questions about what it means to be charitable, who deserves what, and who gets the power to decide</b></p>
<p>It’s the middle of the night in Los Angeles when Maya, a married mother of one, receives the phone call. Her colleague Marc has been accused of assaulting a local girl in Likanni, where they operate a charitable orphanage. Can she get on the next flight?</p>
<p>When Maya arrives, protesters surround the compound. The accuser is Lele, her former protégé and the chief’s daughter. There are no witnesses, no proof of any crime.</p>
<p>What happened that night? And what will happen to the orphanage if this becomes a scandal? Caught between Marc and Lele, the charity and the villagers, her marriage and new temptations, and between worlds, Maya lives the secret contradictions of the aid worker: there to serve the most deprived, but ultimately there to govern.</p>
<p>As Maya feels the pleasures, freedoms, and humanity of life in Likanni, she recognizes that her American life is inextricably woven into this violent reality — and that dishonesty in one place affects the realities in another.</p>