As she states in her endnote, Kaseke was in a dark place when she wrote most of these stories. The pain and frustration she had felt as an immigrant clearly came through in the stories. Yet the stories are also brutally honest. Any halfway sympathetic reader will have a better understanding of the difficulties faced by modern immigrants to America faced by Africans. Sure some readers might want to argue things are not that bad for all immigrants and a few will perhaps be downright offended. I think it is great to support such different writers and offer such counter narratives.
Kaseke describes how immigrants from Zimbabe such as herself face so many layers of discrimination. Also revealing is how difficult the system of legal immigration can be and how quickly one can fall into illegal status, which creates entire other layers of challenge and fear. Kaske does not spare her home country, either, when it comes to describing the sexism and paternalism in a society that relegates women to a near-slave status. Men fare very poorly in this book. One hopes that Kaske has met at least a few more noble ones since penning these stories. A most enlightening read.
Kaseke describes how immigrants from Zimbabe such as herself face so many layers of discrimination. Also revealing is how difficult the system of legal immigration can be and how quickly one can fall into illegal status, which creates entire other layers of challenge and fear. Kaske does not spare her home country, either, when it comes to describing the sexism and paternalism in a society that relegates women to a near-slave status. Men fare very poorly in this book. One hopes that Kaske has met at least a few more noble ones since penning these stories. A most enlightening read.