Stories of exile and return, that do counter the usual stereotype of the ´successful´ immigrants, who speeds up his career within less than a decade, from rags to palace, Manchester Happened by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi are extremely knowledgeable in terms of exploring the feelings of alienation and out-of-place.
The main characters of the stories are originary from Uganda, women more than men, unhappy in their country of adoption, keen to return to any price. They don´t long for home and an extended family from the comfort of their British homes while dreaming nostalgically on their poor yet happy lives back home. There are individuals longing for a better life, but the life they are living right now is definitely so.
The stories are organised in two parts: Departing and Returning, the milestones of a life either looking for a life in the making or longing for the previous life. Thus, in mirror, the reader can follow different destinies, back and forth from one realm to another, connecting destinies, hopes and disappointments.
One of the most important part of reading this short stories was to notice the complex description of the characters. They are more than literal stereotypes of what they are expected to display, unidimensional figures, mostly, but they are assigned a multi-faceted complexity, for instance, in their interaction with the new environment and the acknowledgement of their unique nature. The characters from Manchester Happened are as inquisitive, doubtful, shy or insecure as any human being you may meet in flesh and blood. They are not simple immigrants from Uganda to the UK but human beings that do not adapt easy to the new weather conditions or who may just hate the decisions they took or who simply cannot see any sign of a good life in the new country.
Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi is definitely my newest favorite writer. As for now I am deeply delved into her novel A Girl is a Body of Water. Can´t wait to share my review!
Rating: 4.5 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment