World Literature: Joseph O’Neill Shares “Godwin”

Joseph O’Neill, acclaimed author of Netherland (a New York Times Book Review Best Book of the year) comes to City of Asylum to share his latest novel, Godwin. Partially set right here in Pittsburgh, the book unfolds the odyssey of two brothers crossing the world in search of an African soccer prodigy who might change their fortunes.

“Often, as I’m biking in Flushing Meadows Park in Queens, I stop to watch the cricket matches and think of Netherland, Joseph O’Neill’s brilliant novel of immigrant New York. With his new work, Godwin, he transports us to West Africa in pursuit of a mysterious soccer prodigy, as well as to the offices of a Pittsburgh-based workers’ collective. His storytelling is so assured, so nuanced, that you’ll follow him anywhere. How does he do it? Why these obsessions—and why Pittsburgh? We’ll soon find out.” —Anderson Tepper, Curator for World Literature at City of Asylum

The world of Godwin follows Mark Wolfe, a brilliant if self-thwarting technical writer, who lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Sushila, and their toddler daughter. His half-brother Geoff, born and raised in the United Kingdom, is a desperate young soccer agent. He pulls Mark across the ocean into a scheme to track down an elusive prospect known only as “Godwin”—an African teenager Geoff believes could be the next Lionel Messi.

Narrated in turn by Mark and his work colleague Lakesha Williams, Godwin is a tale of family and migration as well as an international adventure story that implicates the brothers in the beauty and ugliness of soccer, the perils and promises of international business, and the dark history of transatlantic money-making. Through these characters and this journey, Joseph O’Neill investigates the legacy of colonialism in the context of family love, global capitalism, and the dreaming individual.

You can purchase your own copy of Joseph’s book, Godwin, at City of Asylum Bookstore.

About the Author:

Joseph O’Neill is the author of the novels The Dog, Netherland (which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award), The Breezes, and This Is the Life. He has also written a family history, Blood-Dark Track. He lives in New York City and teaches at Bard College.

About the Moderator:

Anderson Tepper is City of Asylum’s Curator of World Literature. He has been a guest curator of PEN America’s World Voices Festival and is a longstanding member of the international committee of the Brooklyn Book Festival. He writes on books and authors for a variety of publications, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and World Literature Today. Anderson also serves on the City of Asylum Advisory Board.

About Your Visit: 

The espresso bar will be open during the program. Additionally, the in-house restaurant Cucina Alfabeto is open for brunch from 11am-3pm and for dinner from 5-9pm. Please visit Open Table or call 412-435-1111 to make a reservation.