In the United States of Africa

#270
Title: In the United States of Africa
Author: Abdourahman A. Waberi
Translators: David and Nicole Ball
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Year: 2009
Country: Djibouti
131 pages

A lyrical odyssey that sacrifices plot and clarity for poetic flights, In the United States of Africa is enjoyable to read but ultimately unsatisfying. Written primarily in the second person, it details the coming of age of Maya, a white French refugee adopted from war-torn and barbaric Europe by an altruistic couple in prosperous Africa. Linguistic and political jokes abound and are fun to encounter. Dizzying linguistic tangents are tasty even in translation. The premise is a pleasure. The plot is negligible masquerading as erudite, though that's not a reason not to read it. Waberi is, finally, unduly coy; an example is the bundle that causes Maya to recoil. Perhaps others have figured it out, but if they have, the answer is not revealed in otherwise spoiler-laden reviews.  Though I have several guesses, none seems particularly supported by the narrative, unless the literal contents of the bundle don't matter and instead symbolize Maya's alternative fate. Maybe I'm missing something; if so, please help me out, but my master's in writing is not sufficient to the task.