Book Review: Unsettled by Reem Faruqi

 

As a child and young adult whose most early life meant being dislocated - geographically and spiritually - from a place to another, with parents fully unaware of the impact of the semi-nomadic lifestyle to their children - as themselves haven´t know any other stable way of living, I am instantly attracted by books dealing with representation of the unrooting. 

How one should deal with being removed regularly from his or her own familiar school environment? What happen when one has to enter worlds dramatically different of their own in terms of religious practice, curricula, language? Happily, nowadays we have social media and WhatsApp and it is easily to keep in touch with relatives and friends from all over the world, but still there is a deep trauma to leave behind your fragile human network moving in a place where not only no one wants to deal with you, but you become an easy target for bullying.

13 yo Nurah - from noor, light in Arabic - has to leave behind her friends and leave Karachi, Pakistan for moving to America with her parents. Inspired by Reem Faruqi´s own experience, Unsettled is a poetic story of growing up by the force of events. In her new country and home, she lost her voice. She is becoming mute and invisible. She is afraid to speak up, to be herself. Her learned English does not help, her mother is having her own grown-up problems and she is mostly left to herself. A herself that she cannot recognize any more. There is the grammar of separation and heartbreaking that matters right now. It is a new language she learns without even saying its words.

Faruqi succeeded to create a very distinguished poignant voice which is appropriate both for the age and the topics. It is a common issue particular to those whose roots were violently cut. To those new comers who has to adapt, but got lost on the way.

Unsettled is a short and lyrical account that both immigrant children and their parents should read. It helps, on one hand, to learn how to deal with the new environment and, on the other hand, possibly helping parents to acknowledge the difficulties their children are dealing with.

Rating: 4 stars