I read this for my Reading Around the World Challenge/Book Club for the DRC! However this was set in Canada which I wasn’t expecting 🥲

Synopsis is misleading as hell-this wasn’t a collection of short stories but actually a sort of short novel with vignettes about one character, a Congolese immigrant, Joli. The chapters jump around her life sharing stories throughout her adolescent and early 20s. Each story could stand on its own while also painting a wider picture of Loli’s life experience!

Poetic storytelling that had me highlighting a lot but full of difficult content. The characters are complex and well written, many of their actions were sad and disturbing so that made it hard to “enjoy” so to speak. 

I loved getting to know the wedding traditions of Congo and learning snippets about their culture! I read this in a single day; it was so engaging, raw, and melancholic. 

I’d recommend this if you enjoy stories that explore generational trauma, queer identity, immigrant experiences, and coming of age  

TW/CW: addiction, sexual content, pedophilia, police brutality, xenophobia, alcohol/underage drinking, suicide, sexual assault, drug abuse, death of parent, pregnancy, abortion, alcoholism, infidelity 

Rep: black MC and author, bi MC?, trans minor character 

Quotes I loved:

"’What is the difference between this and a genocide?’ she asked.

Nobody knew, but everybody understood.”

“I don't know why he was always so kind to me. I couldn't tell if it was genuine or sexual. I tried not to make everything about sex, every act of kindness, ever well-wish, every hello. But you go through life being touched, you go through life being looked at, you go through life with an uncle commenting on your breasts, or your brother's friend giving you a condom for your birthday then denying it, you go through life being called a cunt on public transportation, you go through life being followed at midnight, you go through life being told you're pretty, you're pretty, you're so fucking pretty—it gets complicated.”

“Maybe growing up in a silent house had made me an expert at hearing the crack in things”

“‘You're leaving?’

‘Well, Dyl, yeah.’

‘You can stay until you find a place. You can at least stay the night. Or maybe you don't have to leave at all?’

I love this so much about men. How they can hate a woman and still want them. How they confuse fucking for an ‘I'll you see later.’”

“She went through life like someone who wanted to get hurt.”

“There was just something so funny about childhood-how it attempts to prepare you for the slaughter. How it fails-how it is decorated like a nursery.”