Virgin of Flames

Chris Abani is the author of Becoming Abigail and Graceland which won the Hemingway/PEN prize and was a finalist for the IMPAC Dublin Award. He was born in Nigeria and has lived in London, New York and Los Angeles. He teaches at the University of California, Riverside.

"Chris Abani reveals Los Angeles as we have never seen it before - magical and crumbling, a place of deserted rooftop oases and intersections where new identities are bought and sold. He has rewritten our American story and brought the world into our streets" -- Walter Mosely "Contains moments of real tenderness and beauty" New Statesmen "Abani is as adept at portraying [Black's] humanity as he is at portraying the richness of his city. The Virgin of the Flames is fully of beauty and insight. Suspenseful, too" -- Jane Smiley Guardian "Abani [is] a fluid, closely observant writer" Washington Post "A powerful, scary and beautiful novel. Abani is a force to be reckoned with, a world-class novelist" -- Russell Banks