Seventeen-year-old John "Leeds" Kipligat lives with his parents in a bleak housing project. To escape the poverty and desperate cycle of their current lives, Leeds and his best friend Kulvinder Sharma make a pact to join their local track club and try to win scholarships to an American university.
But the world of competitive running proves more intense than a young boy of streets could ever have imagined. With enormous mental and physical demands, running soon becomes not just a sport for Leeds but a way to escape his troubles. From memories of a life in Kenya that he and his family were forced to flee, to the discriminations he faces everyday as a young African man to his own self destructive tendency, Leeds soon finds that running maybe a way to save his life.
David Odhiambo creates a compelling coming of age story full of struggle and redemption. At once poignant and gritty, with a keen ear for language, Odhiambo renders a world few will ever know.
Seventeen-year-old John "Leeds" Kipligat lives with his parents in a bleak housing project. To escape the poverty and desperate cycle of their current lives, Leeds and his best friend Kulvinder Sharma make a pact to join their local track club and try to win scholarships to an American university.
But the world of competitive running proves more intense than a young boy of streets could ever have imagined. With enormous mental and physical demands, running soon becomes not just a sport for Leeds but a way to escape his troubles. From memories of a life in Kenya that he and his family were forced to flee, to the discriminations he faces everyday as a young African man to his own self destructive tendency, Leeds soon finds that running maybe a way to save his life.
David Odhiambo creates a compelling coming of age story full of struggle and redemption. At once poignant and gritty, with a keen ear for language, Odhiambo renders a world few will ever know.
Kipligat's Chance: A Novel
288
Kipligat's Chance: A Novel
288Paperback(First Edition)
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780312329549 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | St. Martin's Press |
| Publication date: | 09/01/2004 |
| Edition description: | First Edition |
| Pages: | 288 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.42(w) x 8.32(h) x 0.76(d) |