which explores how one extended Ghanian family grapples with its strained relationship with America, a country that mistreats them despite the family s constant efforts to do right Nnuro s language is economical, precise, but never artless.
The New York Times Book ReviewA carefully captured account of sibling rivalry, diverging ambitions, and the rot at the heart of the American Dream.
Elle[An] intelligent and wrenching debut.
VultureSpellbinding In this compelling and insightful debut, Nnuro delivers a nuanced exploration of the American Dream's broken promises.
EsquireWhat an intricately textured and deeply thoughtful novel this is.
What Napoleon Could Not Do is a powerful debut, an exploration of family that's at once intimate and expansive. Claire Lombardo, author of
The Most Fun We Ever HadIn his brilliant debut, DK Nnuro shows us what happens when we do and don t get our heart s desire. The characters in this novel are fascinating in their honesty, their hope, and their humor, and their story is unforgettable: involving, surprisingly, and very human. Kate Christensen, author of
The Great Man and
TroubleWhat Napoleon Could Not Do is an exquisitely written meditation on family, secrets, duty, loss, and the desire for success and inner peace. D.K. Nnuro has crafted each character whether their role is large or small with great care and singularity. What a striking debut. De'Shawn Charles Winslow, author of the award-winning
In West MillsDK Nnuro s striking first novel offers its readers a highly nuanced portrait of how the shadow of American hegemony shapes the lives of two Ghanian siblings, one who immigrates and one who doesn t. In Nnuro's deft hands, these particulars rise into a vision, panoramic in scope, of the global trade not in goods and services but in fantasy, desire, and regret. Jacob and Belinda are characters you will not soon forget, and the ache of their lives caught between Ghana and the United States is at the heart of this subtle, surprising, and captivating novel. Adam Haslettt, author of
Imagine Me Gone
What a majestic, poignant debut. So often I wanted to pull these characters to the side, as one would a friend, and hug them and ask, what are you doing? The storytelling is exquisite. It delights in its intellect, its precision and its keen, surprising insights. Nnuro is a writer of supreme powers. Here is a storyteller of the ages. Novuyo Rosa Tshuma, author of
House of Stone and
I Dream America
