'The Good Immigrant' Review
When we think of the word “immigrant,” what do we think of? Some brown man coming to a foreign country, stealing the local’s jobs and being generally cultural incongruent with the general (white) public?
As so many individuals of migrant background know, there are eons to the immigrant experience than that, even though public discourse would have us believe otherwise.
The Good Immigrant, edited by Nikesh Shulka, is a collection of essays written by a wide array of British migrant writers; everyone from Coco Khan to Riz Ahmed lend their experience to this anthology that is as diverse as it is thought provoking.
The essays extend to every corner of the globe, from China to Africa to Turkey, coming from backgrounds of war, to poverty to private school, to bring us a holistic view into the life of the immigrant- to show that there really isn’t one migrant at all.
This anthology was written to dispel this singular, narrow narrative we have of the immigrant. Immigrant, the word used for both people who flee war and people who seek better work opportunities in a land abroad. Immigrants, who are demonized, attacked, fetishized, and placed in a world that is not quite British, but not quite foreign either. To reduce the plethora of experiences that stems from migration into a single world or a single narrative Is impossible at best, and harmful at worst.
There is so much at play in a migrant’s life, that a single word can never do it justice. And this collection of words tries to illustrate that, and succeeds. A migrant’s experience is a constant battle between worlds, between family, with the public, home countries, and new countries. The Good Immigrant captures that battle brilliantly at every level.
The book spreads to all corners of a foreigner’s experience in Britain. Everything from media representation, “the model minority” and islamophobia are all explored in a myriad of personal grievances, inconveniences and life threatening moments. It does a great job at showing that racism can spread to every single fiber of the person’s life, and goes beyond point blank discrimination.
These stories all combine to show that there is no one migrant experience; and no one migrant story- we are as diverse as diversity itself. We’re black, brown, yellow, Muslim, Christian, agnostic and everything in between.
There is no “good immigrant” in the same way there is no “bad one.” There is just a collection of people looking to live their lives the same way every other white person in the country is. And this book is an excellent step in disseminating that truth.
I’d recommend it to anyone and everyone, but it can be of particular resonance to those of migrant backgrounds. I know I felt extremely uplifted when my abstract feelings were articulated and given assurance. It’s a real testament to the importance of representation.
There are so many stories out there to tell, and this book is clear evidence of that.
The book shines with stories that touch both universal and deeply personal themes, that I found myself resonating with truths in the stories of people who came from halfway across the world. Though I only personally experienced those stories written by the East Asian authors, I found myself resonating with every contribution in one way or another. It is a true feat that a book imbued with such diversity can also harness a universal ethos.
Perhaps one day, the world can balance such a dynamic.
