This is a powerful and thoughtful story of the immigrant experience in America. Sepha Stephanos is an Ethiopian immigrant living in Washington, D.C. and eking out an existence running a grocery store in a poor neighborhood. Having fled the revolution to a better life Stephanos still finds himself nostalgic for home and isolated in the new country even after seventeen years.
With his two friends, Ken from Kenya and Joseph from the Congo, they form their own community, each one still reaching for the American Dream. When they meet for drinks at Stephano's store the three often end up playing a game of name the dictator which has so far given them 30 African countries to think of in terms of failed coups, rebellions and guerilla leaders. They may be nostalgic but for the most part they know that their life is now here.
In time Judith and her daughter, Naomi, move in next door to Stephano's store. He befriends them and begins to think of life in America with a new family, but the neighborhood's calm is about to be shattered with some racial incidents, which only serve to make Stephanos feel completely at a loss.
One exchange between the friends that I found particularly thought provoking was between Joseph and Kenneth. For Joseph everything reminded him of Africa until one day Kenneth has had enough and tells him that if he misses Africa so much why doesn't he go back. Kenneth asserts that Joseph would rather miss Africa comfortably from America instead of hating it every day from there. Just like this one, there are many other paragraphs that make you stop and think about just how different the immigrant experience is for everyone who has left behind their motherland.
One minor character who I really liked and wished we had seen more of was Stephano's uncle. A quiet, hard-working man who writes letters to politicians in hopes of doing something good for his native country. Ultimately, I felt like this was not just an immigrant tale but also a universal story about finding a place to call home.
Added 04/07