One World Two

Book excerpt: One World Two is the eagerly awaited follow-up to One World and another globe-trotting collection of stories. But it is more than simply an anthology of short fiction, as it contains representative literature from all over the world, conveying the reader on thought-provoking journeys across continents, cultures and landscapes. One World Two is even more ambitious than Volume One in its geographic scope, featuring twenty-one writers drawn from every continent. Most of the stories are unique to this volume, while others are appearing for the first time in English (Egypt's Mansoura Ez-Eldin and Brazil's Vanessa Barbara). The themes and writing styles are as richly diverse as their writers' origins. The collection is built around a loose theme of building bridges. It is interested in the human condition as a dynamic central line linking individuals, cultures and experiences: east and west, north and south, and, perhaps most importantly, past, present and future. This book features established stars such as Edwidge Danticat (Breath, Eyes, Memory), Viet Thanh Nguyen (The Sympathizer) and Aminatta Forna (The Hired Man) and authors who are steadily building a reputation such as Fan Wu, Ana Menéndez and Daniel Alarcon. In order of appearance, the authors are: Yewande Omotoso, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Heidi North-Bailey, Ana Menéndez, Mathew Howard, Okwiri Oduor, Desiree Bailey, Vamba Sherif, Alice Melike Ulgezer, Daniel Alarcon, Mansoura Ez-Eldin, Aminatta Forna, Nahid Rachlin, Samuel Munene, Vanessa Barbara, Ret'sepile Makamane, Fan Wu, Olufemi Terry, Balli Kaur Jaswal, Chris Brazier, and Edwidge Danticat. Edited and compiled by Ovo Adagha and Chris Brazier.