layawaydragon
Written on Jan 1, 2017
This is a fantastic group of short stories. Every one stars a different Somalian in either Kenya, Somalia, or South London. There are also beautiful black drawings to accompany each story. Also, I don't know what the binding and cover is made of but I absolutely love it. It still looks beautiful after living in my purse for so long as I read it in starts and fits.
Being a short story collection, it jumps and changes but I noticed the first stories start with children and progress into adulthood. The final story is only a page and a half about two grown established men loving fiercly and proudly.
Fairytales for Lost Children contains nothing typical. There is no royalty or treasures. That alone speaks volumes about the Muslim QUILTBAG Somalian experience.
As such, it will not be light and fluffy reading. This hits hard in vulnerable spots but leaves hope among the scars.
Fairytales does contain graphic detail for sex, but it fits the stories and is a rebellious act to reclaim the part your country, your people, and your religion wants to circumcise. You might even find yourself liking it ;)
Since I don't typically read short stories and because of the the content, I took a break after each story. It really helped resolve my lingering problem of "What happens next?" and for the stories to permeate and settle.
Each tale is striking. The writing is strong, the characters jump from the page, the dialogue is laced with their natural slang, and is a testament to their pain, resilience, and voice.
It isn't dumbed down or explained, it comes through in context and demands the reader learn and acknowledge their experiences.
As I said in my Goodreads update, this is what diverse books is all about.
Important to Note:
There are two stories towards the end where the MC is schizophrenic and I really want to emphasize that while working on being fulfilled and at peace as a person will help, this isn't the kind of problem that just goes away. Each of them were on medicine and stayed on meds. It's not "make the world a better place and this won't happen to people kind of thing".
There is also one story where the MC is struggling with being an effeminate gay man and expressing both sides of himself. He along with his best friend use the word "tranny" as an insult with no debunking or anything. It's just there and apparently approved of.