IN THE UNITED STATES OF Africa by ABDORAHMAN A. WABERI
SUMMARY
The world began as Pangea, a single land mass, and split apart into several continents. Africans had high confidence from the beginning due to their high degree of separation from other races in regard to skin color. There was once a Devil in Africa, but African Queens defeated the Devil, banishing it to Europe. Europe is then chronically consumed by war and strife between ethnic groups while Africa is relatively peaceful. One uncharacteristically violent African administration left in its wake the country's first railroad.
In the 21st century, many impoverished Europeans are flocking to Africa. Many Africans advocate a practice known as 'Africanization', or, the removal of all non-native Africans from the continent because European refugees are draining the African economy. When European settlers die there is no investigation into their murders, and there exists a city cleanup machine in Africa to sweep bums off the streets.
A white girl named Maya lives with adopted parents. She excels in school and the arts, despite being taunted for her race, and creates inspiring European art. Maya's adoptive mother falls ill and she returns home in time to watch her adoptive mother die. Her adoptive father is unable to care for himself so Maya must supplant her adoptive mother as the old man's caretaker.
Fed up with prejudice against whites in Africa, and her curiosity enlivened by the death of her adoptive mother, Maya goes to France to meet her biological mother. Maya's biological mother lives in Paris, FR, and has rotting teeth due to France's poor dental care. Next, Maya meets her biological father in a shack which smells badly. As Maya's father prepares to give her what looks like a packet of coal, the room's stench overwhelms Maya, who runs out of the room, and showers in her hotel room immediately. The next day, Maya is on a flight back to Africa.
ANALYSIS
This book attributes Africa's poverty to random bad luck. In this universe, the problems of Africa have stricken Europe rather than the cradle of life, leaving Africa to rapidly progress as Europe has. Considering the first great civilization, Egypt, was in Africa, a highly advanced Africa in comparison to Europe is not an impractical scenario.
Maya's personal journey transitions from dissatisfaction to gratitude. She is unhappy that she faces racism until racism is the least of her problems in impoverished France, when she becomes grateful for her adoptive African parents. The inconveniences of first-world problems are put in context by her experience.
On the other hand, Maya is, in a sense, homeless. She is viewed as an outsider in Africa for her skin color and she is viewed as an outsider in France for her cultural background. Maya's predicament raises the question of what gives a person their national identity. However, the novella does not answer the question it poses, which leaves the reader to decide what defines a person themselves.
Waberi writes this book from the perspective of an unknown narrator who speaks in the tone of a bedtime story and is intimate with Maya. The narrator is not one of her adoptive or biological parents. The novella is told through a sequence of stories which have occurred in the past as they are related to Maya.
SUMMARY
The world began as Pangea, a single land mass, and split apart into several continents. Africans had high confidence from the beginning due to their high degree of separation from other races in regard to skin color. There was once a Devil in Africa, but African Queens defeated the Devil, banishing it to Europe. Europe is then chronically consumed by war and strife between ethnic groups while Africa is relatively peaceful. One uncharacteristically violent African administration left in its wake the country's first railroad.
In the 21st century, many impoverished Europeans are flocking to Africa. Many Africans advocate a practice known as 'Africanization', or, the removal of all non-native Africans from the continent because European refugees are draining the African economy. When European settlers die there is no investigation into their murders, and there exists a city cleanup machine in Africa to sweep bums off the streets.
A white girl named Maya lives with adopted parents. She excels in school and the arts, despite being taunted for her race, and creates inspiring European art. Maya's adoptive mother falls ill and she returns home in time to watch her adoptive mother die. Her adoptive father is unable to care for himself so Maya must supplant her adoptive mother as the old man's caretaker.
Fed up with prejudice against whites in Africa, and her curiosity enlivened by the death of her adoptive mother, Maya goes to France to meet her biological mother. Maya's biological mother lives in Paris, FR, and has rotting teeth due to France's poor dental care. Next, Maya meets her biological father in a shack which smells badly. As Maya's father prepares to give her what looks like a packet of coal, the room's stench overwhelms Maya, who runs out of the room, and showers in her hotel room immediately. The next day, Maya is on a flight back to Africa.
ANALYSIS
This book attributes Africa's poverty to random bad luck. In this universe, the problems of Africa have stricken Europe rather than the cradle of life, leaving Africa to rapidly progress as Europe has. Considering the first great civilization, Egypt, was in Africa, a highly advanced Africa in comparison to Europe is not an impractical scenario.
Maya's personal journey transitions from dissatisfaction to gratitude. She is unhappy that she faces racism until racism is the least of her problems in impoverished France, when she becomes grateful for her adoptive African parents. The inconveniences of first-world problems are put in context by her experience.
On the other hand, Maya is, in a sense, homeless. She is viewed as an outsider in Africa for her skin color and she is viewed as an outsider in France for her cultural background. Maya's predicament raises the question of what gives a person their national identity. However, the novella does not answer the question it poses, which leaves the reader to decide what defines a person themselves.
Waberi writes this book from the perspective of an unknown narrator who speaks in the tone of a bedtime story and is intimate with Maya. The narrator is not one of her adoptive or biological parents. The novella is told through a sequence of stories which have occurred in the past as they are related to Maya.
- an advanced student from 1st world Africa is adopted
- the student is mocked for having European heritage
- the student visits Europe to find her biological parents
- the student is appalled by her parents' poverty and gleefully returns to Africa
SOURCE
Waberi, Abdourahman A. In the United States of Africa. Trans. David Ball and Nicole Ball. Lincoln: U of Nebraska, 2009. Print. An adopted woman seeks out her biological parents.
