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Isaac has come to the US from Africa to escape the violence and chaos of revolution; Helen is a social worker tasked with helping him settle. Our narrators begin a relationship that tests the tolerance of small-town 1970s Illinois and brings Isaac’s complicated past into focus. The story joins the dots between the horrors of African history (specifically Idi Amin’s reign in Uganda) and the slowly changing racial dynamics of American society in the wake of the civil rights movement. This is a restrained and subtle exploration of immigration and identity from Mengestu, an American of Ethiopian origin. Both protagonists are outsiders and introverts given to withholding facts and feelings, and their interlocking narratives create an ambiguous double-exposure effect that, rather than providing answers, heightens the sense of mystery.
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