(Reviewed by JD Jung)
This collection will captivate you as soon as you start reading. “Send Her Back” is just one of twelve riveting tales centering around women who immigrated to the U.S. from Zimbabwe. In that specific title, a young woman who has just been accepted into medical school is in fear of being deported.
But each of these works of fiction is so different from one another. Some elaborate on cultural differences. One woman doesn’t understand issues of race in America. She wants to stand out, so she becomes a Trump supporter. After working in the U.S., another woman goes back home to visit family and realizes that even though she misses her homeland, she and the country have changed. A U.S green card holder from Zimbabwe visits Mozambique and gets a big culture shock. Some of the women who experience bad behavior from their American boyfriends, incorrectly chock it up to cultural differences.
Some stories are so heart wrenching that you’ll think about them for days. One woman works four jobs and sleeps in her car, just so she can send money to her ungrateful family. In another story, a single mother can’t relate to her American-born teenager who thinks life would be better in another family.
One story that may seem familiar is the adult who arrived in the U.S. at the age of five but can only stay if she remains a student. This is a problem in the U.S., and the author personalizes it by adding depth and nuance as she does with every story.
There’s the abused wife who anxiously awaits the death of her elderly Zimbabwean husband. A successful stockbroker sends home for her husband only to be humiliated by him once he arrives. Then there’s the cold Minnesota winter that acts an abusive partner. These stories take place in diverse American states and cities, such as North Dakota, Indiana, San Francisco, and Baltimore.
Though these women may live lives quite dissimilar to your own, you’ll find certain aspects that you can relate to. The characters are painted with color and emotion and are very real.
These stories are so engaging that you can’t wait to discover what events the next one unfolds.
