Gods of Noonday

Elaine Neil Orr, a professor of literature and creative writing at North Carolina State University, is the author of two scholarly books. She has been awarded an NEH fellowship and writing fellowships in creative nonfiction by the North Carolina Arts Council and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.

Orr's acute memory and reflective contemplations about life in her beloved Africa in those formative years give readers an intricate picture of an unusual upbringing blended with an adult's take on the cultural changes in the world beyond the missionary compounds where her family was posted. - Publishers Weekly ""Most impressive about this book is its perfect balance. The thoughtfulness of Gods of Noonday toward its subjects and Orr's lush writing style make it one of this year's outstanding nonfiction books."" - Louisville Courier-Journal ""The experiences she relates are poignant, funny, and often excruciating, as growing up often can be, but it is her description of the people, particularly the local Yoruba, and the many places that imprinted themselves on her heart that come most alive."" - The Tennessean ""This amazing memoir shares with the reader the remarkable intelligence, honesty, and lyrical sensibility of Elaine Orr. Her style of writing is breath-takingly beautiful, whether she is describing the flora and fauna, the rivers and landscape of Nigeria, or the inner landscape of her personal journey of discovery and healing. I read this fresh, insightful, and original book in a constant state of wonder and excitement."" - Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife and Four Spirits ""Gods of Noonday is a sharp eyed yet heartfelt memoir of a white American girl born and growing up in Nigeria, West Africa. Deeply thoughtful, candid, and unsentimental, it explores with great sensitivity and understanding the rare blessing of this most extraordinary and enriching of childhoods. A classic of its kind."" - William Boyd, author of Brazzaville Beach and A Good Man in Africa