The Good Braider

I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING.

Just kidding, it's me, I'm crying.

This was a beautiful look at the complexities of life as a refugee from Sudan and later, immigrant to the US. It pulls no punches but never feels over-the-top with tragedy. (Note: this book contains the death and rape of children.) But it ends on a hopeful, optimistic note.

I will say I'm not totally sure why this is a “novel in verse”? It mostly just felt like there were weird line breaks, rather than actual poetry?? Maybe Farish is just going for a stream of consciousness feel, which worked just fine. The repeated imagery of the braiding was lovely, though.