GraceLand is a 2004 novel by Chris Abani

Chris Abani

Christopher Abani is a Nigerian author. Abani's first novel, Masters of the Board, was about a Neo-Nazi takeover of Nigeria...

. It received the 2005 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award

Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award

The Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award is awarded annually to a novel or book of short stories by an American author who has not previously published a book of fiction. The award is named after Ernest Hemingway and funded by the Ernest Hemingway Foundation, which has been administered by the Hemingway...

 and Hurston-Wright Legacy Award

Hurston-Wright Legacy Award

The Hurston-Wright Legacy Award is a literary award given by the National Community of Black Writers.The Hurston/Wright Legacy Award is the first national award given to black American writers. The award namesakes are two of the most influential black authors, Zora Neale Hurston and Richard...

, was the Silver Medalist for the California Book Award, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and Commonwealth Writers Prize, and was shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award

International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award

The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is an international literary award for a work of fiction, jointly sponsored by the city of Dublin, Ireland and the company IMPAC. At €100,000 it is one of the richest literary prizes in the world...

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The novel tells the story of a teenager named Elvis, who is trying to get out of the ghettos of Lagos, Nigeria. Elvis lives in Maroko

Maroko, Lagos State

Maroko was a community in Eti-Osa, Lagos State, Nigeria. It was adjacent to Ikoyi and east of Victoria Island. It was a low income area that attracted a lot of migrants since it was in close proximity to economically robust areas...

, Lagos State

Lagos State

Lagos State is an administrative division of Nigeria, located in the southwestern part of the country. The smallest in area of Nigeria's states, Lagos State is the most populous state in Nigeria and arguably the most economically important state of the country and west Africa, containing Lagos, the...

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