The Good Immigrant (2016)

The Good Immigrant is a collection of 21 essays by people of colour (POC) that recount their immigrant/ diaspora experiences and/ or concerns in Britain. This collection was published by Unbound and edited by Nikesh Shukla; it is 234 pages long if I exclude the list of acknowledgements and supporters, of which there are many. It was produced thanks to the support of the public. My sister lent me her copy of this book after I told her I wanted to buy Reni Eddo-Lodge's Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race, since Eddo-Lodge contributed an essay to this collection. Along with my personal reflections, I will briefly describe some recurring themes in the collection. 

This book's strongest feature (for me) is that it addresses and gives voice to a whole spectrum of ethnic narratives and experiences. It obviously cannot cater for every immigrant experience in Britain but it definitely provides a solid variety with which POC can identify with and/or learn from. It covers several continents and takes varied approaches to the subject. I personally felt that it provided me with valuable windows into other worlds and cultural experiences, such as that of the Chinese minority and the Black community, while simultaneously showing me mirrors where I read narratives very close to my own. This combination creates a sense of solidarity with people from other cultural backgrounds, since we may experience discrimination differently depending on our race, and we can thus identify wider social issues that need to be resolved. 

While each essayist brought his/ her own perspective to the fore, a recurrent theme was the complexity and richness of each person's lineage (and consequently the experiences that come with it). Highlighting these complexities not only humanises us but also underlines to what extent our lives have been simplified for the "White man", whether it be on administrative forms or in the media. I sensed both a personal and analytical approach in the writings, which raise it above pure anecdotal sentimentality. The collection discusses the effects of living in the diaspora in the context of politics, culture, the education system, the media and even sex. 

Another recurrent theme is that of representation, especially in the media (including literature), to the extent that POC children (and maybe even adults) have internalised that stories are about White people, with White people representing the "universal" by default. Several essayists discuss the role of media and pop culture on upbringing and self-perception. This issue is being increasingly voiced on social media but I do not know to what extent it is being addressed in the real world- though I believe there is an active attempt for greater diversity in literature in terms of characters and authors. Nevertheless, it shows the bias we face from early on and the bias we expose our children to. 

To be clear, this book is far from being an emotional diatribe of 21 bothered Britons. It is an assessment and critique of multicultural Britain that raises important issues that need to be addressed in order to create an empowering, healthy and representative environment for the various communities that make up Britain today. The Good Immigrant explores the burden of Empire and living in the wake of colonisation while still being expected to conform to white standards like our ancestors while our White counterparts do not live with the same pressure to rectify the wrongs of the past. The ideas in this book are well articulated and the writing is quite beautiful; it is funny, shocking, sad and eye-opening. This is an important read for anyone in the diaspora- or whoever is considered an immigrant. 

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Another little shoutout and thank you to my little sister for loaning this book to me. It's a great piece of work and I'm so close to ordering my own copy!

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? If you haven't read it yet, do these issues interest you? 

Trumpet (1998)

A completely new genre of book after my Partition series but a novel worth analysing. Trumpet, written by the Scottish author Jackie Kay, was published in 1998 by Vintage Books. I read a digital edition on my iPad that adjusted the page count according to the text size but the print version is apparently 278 pages long; it has 36 chapters. The novel tells the story of the late Joss Moody, a black jazz musician (trumpet player), who lives the life of a man (wife and adopted child included) but turns out to have been biologically female*. The discovery of this transgendered life is the starting point of the novel and the conflicts experienced by his wife, son and the world around them make up the novel. It is based on the story of musician Billy Tipton, a real American jazz artist. I will discuss the issues of identity, some gender theory and the style of the novel. 

A major theme in the novel is the construction of identity which is explored in various ways. In terms of heritage, there is a significant discussion on what family means and through whom do we identify ourselves? Colman, the adopted son, knows his biological parents are not the ones he lives with nor does he consider them to be his parents. He does not know who they are so, despite the blood connection, his family and identity are defined through his adopted parents. This is why he is so devastated at the "betrayal" of his female father figure. Arguably the most marked symbol of identity in this novel is one's name. Names are windows into history, choice, biology and/or family. Changing names is something that takes place casually for marriage but also to change gender, to change parents and to share heritage, as in the choice for Colman's first name. How we choose to name ourselves or those around us reveals a lot, for Edith, Joss's mother, never stopped calling Joss by his feminine given name. Racial and national identity are also discussed in the novel, as Joss Moody has a black father and white mother but considers himself Scottish nonetheless. Their adopted son is also of mixed race and is encouraged to respect his Scottish heritage even when living in London. The extent to which identity is given to us or chosen is repeated in terms of racial versus national affiliations as well as in the understanding of sex and gender.

Gender theory in the art world (including the literary domain) is highly relevant in the analysis of this text. The reason for this is that Joss Moody passes as a man simply through two things: dress and behaviour. This supports the argument that gender is a social construct which is created through repeating and repeated behaviours. Conventions for a gender are usually set by social norms and then require to be imitated accordingly. Consequently, the question of gender identity may come down to which conventions one feels like following, although someone who wants "ultimate freedom from society" may try to defy all conventions, a challenge in itself. In any case, there are questions of authenticity and the importance of convention, even when being "unconventional". 

In terms of style, the novel is written from various (subjective) perspectives, and key characters' perspectives are repeated while periphery characters are given just one chapter. Each character engages with the issue (of Joss Moody) in a different manner most relevant to his/her own personal involvement. Kay does not forget to add a media perspective of this ordeal, for which journalist would not be interested in such a "quirky" scoop? Sophie Stones represents the ruthless media industry and a world seeking to take advantage of others for its own gain.The chapters and thoughts are not ordered chronologically. 

Joss Moody, however, is dead from the beginning and so his thoughts elude us; even in conversations that Millie (his wife) could share with us about his revelation, the narrative is cut short. This means that we never really hear his opinion and only know his actions. Other pivotal moments and conversations are also cut short and hidden from the reader, such as that between Coleman (the adopted son) and Edith (Moody's mother). For me, this was somewhat frustrating. It may be justified as unnecessary so that people accept the person and actions without feeling entitled to an explanation or even so that by providing explanations, Kay does not risk limiting the interpretation and desire for such lifestyle changes. However, I think the novel would have been stronger with the reasons embedded in them in order to allow "others" to empathise with such decisions more easily, to make it less abstract. 

Overall, despite the unsympathetic characterisation of Colman, one can understand his shock and frustration in the big picture, even if we do not approve his way of going about it. This novel discusses important issues in relation to personal identity and its affects on people around us. It engages with Freudian theory as well as gender theory to make its point. 

Have you read this novel or another addressing similar issues? What are your thoughts on how LGBTQ+ matters are dealt with in literature? Comments are open! 

* Note/ Disclaimer: I use the terms "female" and "male" to refer to the biological sex (and man/ woman to refer to the gender) and consequently consider Joss Moody to be a "female man" and transgender man (not transsexual) because he never undergoes a physical sex change but adopts another gender by hiding features belonging to females and enhancing male features.