Goliath

REBECCA MUNRO, BOOKREPORTER

"With deep emotional resonance, a strong biblical theme and tautly written speculative mechanics, Goliath is a real powerhouse of a novel. However, I'd be remiss not to mention its celebration of Blackness: the high-stakes tension of a game of spades, the pure poetry of the lyrics of Pusha T and Kendrick Lamar, the abundant energy of an 'Atlanta-ass' story. Too often these elements are cast off as 'urban' fiction or, if they find their way into (predominantly white) literary fiction at all, praised for 'elevating' the culture (as if it arises from a place so low as to require elevation). But Onyebuchi, with his generous, intellectually layered prose, celebrates all of these details and more, making them near-heroic qualities, signifiers of resistance in a world hell-bent on stomping out culture. Visceral, urgent and terrifyingly clever, Goliath is a prophecy in and of itself. Onyebuchi will change the way you think about systemic oppression and the need for resistance. Whether it is with this novel or his next brilliant work, he is sure to leave a lasting mark on the literary world."