What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky

Though most of the stories in this collection are realistic fiction, there are a few that contain unreal, speculative, or fabulist elements. How do these stories work together? How do the nonrealistic stories explore real-world themes?

The stories often use words from Nigerian languages without defining them. Explain why an author might make that choice and how it affects your reading of the stories.

There are few male characters in these stories. What role do the fathers, husbands, and boyfriends in this collection serve? How does their presence intersect with Arimah’s exploration of Patriarchal Control of Girls and Women?

Discuss the order of the stories. Is there an arc to the arrangement of stories? How do the first and last stories relate to one another? How else might the stories be arranged? Explain your answer with textual support.

Why is the collection titled “What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky”? How does this story encapsulate the concerns of the collection overall? Why is that particular story titled as it is?

Though many of the stories are serious or tragic, there are moments of humor. Examine some of these moments to explain how Arimah achieves the effect and how the humorous tone affects your reading.

What choice do you think Glory makes at the end of the story? How does her history of making the “wrong” choice complicate this moment?

What do you think the narrator of “Redemption” throws at Mayowa at the end of the story? Is it a physical item or something metaphorical? Explain your answer with evidence from the text.