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readsnjava's review against another edition
4.0
Insightful collection of stories with diverse characters from around the globe and an excellent reminder that we are all imperfect human creatures who really just want to love and be loved as we are.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
5.0
‘In this country, you look at a person, and you know them.’
This book is a collection of ten stories, ranging in length from fifteen to fifty pages. The stories are about aspects of life: racial identity, despair, suffering, and hope. It’s the voices of Ms Clarke’s characters that brings each of these stories to life, the way in which she matches voices to locations and individuals. I found that reading some of these stories aloud made them even more powerful.
‘In this place, something so unbroken does not seem real.’
One of the most menacing characters is a black Ugandan male doctor, with his white lover being at a very real disadvantage once they are in Uganda. The oppressors can be of any race and skin colour, as can the victims. These are not stories which enable us to slip easily into assumptions or judgements. They are stories which invite us to question assumptions, to wonder about the voices we don’t usually hear (or perhaps choose not to listen to?).
Some of the stories are narrated in the first person, others are observed. But regardless of the different narrative points of view, the different cultures and circumstances reflected, the voices feel (and sound) congruent with the characters they represent. While I found each of the stories self-contained, in most cases I wanted more. Not because the story needed more telling, but because the people had (however momentarily) become part of my life, and I wanted to know what would happen next. The issues touched on are important, and the voices used are powerful.
I enjoyed reading this book, even though the subject matter was rarely comforting. Two of the stories in particular, the story of Asanka the child refugee detained at the Villawood Detention Centre in ‘The Stilt Fishermen of Kathaluwa’ and of Delores the trans-gendered protagonist in ‘Gaps in the Hickory’ linger in my mind.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
This book is a collection of ten stories, ranging in length from fifteen to fifty pages. The stories are about aspects of life: racial identity, despair, suffering, and hope. It’s the voices of Ms Clarke’s characters that brings each of these stories to life, the way in which she matches voices to locations and individuals. I found that reading some of these stories aloud made them even more powerful.
‘In this place, something so unbroken does not seem real.’
One of the most menacing characters is a black Ugandan male doctor, with his white lover being at a very real disadvantage once they are in Uganda. The oppressors can be of any race and skin colour, as can the victims. These are not stories which enable us to slip easily into assumptions or judgements. They are stories which invite us to question assumptions, to wonder about the voices we don’t usually hear (or perhaps choose not to listen to?).
Some of the stories are narrated in the first person, others are observed. But regardless of the different narrative points of view, the different cultures and circumstances reflected, the voices feel (and sound) congruent with the characters they represent. While I found each of the stories self-contained, in most cases I wanted more. Not because the story needed more telling, but because the people had (however momentarily) become part of my life, and I wanted to know what would happen next. The issues touched on are important, and the voices used are powerful.
I enjoyed reading this book, even though the subject matter was rarely comforting. Two of the stories in particular, the story of Asanka the child refugee detained at the Villawood Detention Centre in ‘The Stilt Fishermen of Kathaluwa’ and of Delores the trans-gendered protagonist in ‘Gaps in the Hickory’ linger in my mind.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
2.0
These stories are certainly important, but the writing did not impress me.
hopesnvts's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Blood, Cultural appropriation, and War
It doesn't support these issues, rather exposes them.sean67's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating collection of short stories that deal with race, refugees and socio-political aspects. As in pretty much all collections they are not uniform in their quality, but some are moving, and some make you angry, frustrated and sad. Takes the human condition and ensures the characters are three dimensional and real. A great read.
annereads33's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kimberlea's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t often read collections of short stories – I like to get really invested in a story, and I find it easier to do so with a full-length novel – but I really loved Beneba Clarke’s memoir, The Hate Race, and thought I’d check out this collection. I’m glad I did, because this book is an absolute gem. The stories are character-driven and well-paced.
You’ll forgive me if my review seems unbalanced – I know I should focus on the collection as a whole (as you would a volume of poetry), but there are some stories that stick out in my mind more than others, and I do want to gush about them because I walked away from them with a heavy heart (in the best way possible). I think great literature is literature that makes you think, and Beneba Clarke’s Foreign Soil has definitely done that.
Australian media isn’t exactly known for its diversity and inclusiveness – Beneba Clarke has mentioned before that winning the Victorian Premiere’s Unpublished Manuscript Award was instrumental in her securing a publisher, if that’s any indication (given the quality of the short stories, I can only imagine the reason why it got rejected so many times was a fear that audiences wouldn't connect to characters of colour) – so I appreciated that Beneba Clarke gave a voice to people who aren’t often heard.
One thing that is obvious is Beneba Clarke’s abilities (and experience) as a slam poet. She relies on cadences of the voice to tell her stories, and this comes across more effectively in some stories than others (as to be expected). For instance, I struggled quite a bit with the story Big Islan, which was written entirely in Jamaican patois. I struggled to connect with the stories that were accent-heavy, and I didn’t feel that narrating in an accent added to the story (Big Islan, David), given that Beneba Clarke has such a knack for dialogue that that alone gave me such a strong sense of place. Given that the stories followed characters living in London, Sydney, Melbourne, Mississippi, Jamaica and the Sudan (to name a few), this was no easy feat. Nevertheless, I appreciated what Beneba Clarke was trying to do with this device.
My favourite stories were Shu Yi, The Stilt Fishermen of Kathaluwa, and Aviation (which, I understand, is a new addition to the edition I purchased), although Beneba Clarke has an ability to create stories around characters you seemingly have nothing in common with, and make you care about them desperately (and given that the longest story in this collection is around 50 pages… again, no easy feat). The only story in the collection that is even remotely autobiographical is The Sukiyaki Book Club, which references earlier stories in the collection and seemed to document Beneba Clarke’s own struggles in getting published.
Much like The Hate Race, it will be impossible to walk away unaffected by Foreign Soil. With a voice unlike any other, Beneba Clarke is an author who makes me excited for the future of Australian publishing.
You’ll forgive me if my review seems unbalanced – I know I should focus on the collection as a whole (as you would a volume of poetry), but there are some stories that stick out in my mind more than others, and I do want to gush about them because I walked away from them with a heavy heart (in the best way possible). I think great literature is literature that makes you think, and Beneba Clarke’s Foreign Soil has definitely done that.
Australian media isn’t exactly known for its diversity and inclusiveness – Beneba Clarke has mentioned before that winning the Victorian Premiere’s Unpublished Manuscript Award was instrumental in her securing a publisher, if that’s any indication (given the quality of the short stories, I can only imagine the reason why it got rejected so many times was a fear that audiences wouldn't connect to characters of colour) – so I appreciated that Beneba Clarke gave a voice to people who aren’t often heard.
One thing that is obvious is Beneba Clarke’s abilities (and experience) as a slam poet. She relies on cadences of the voice to tell her stories, and this comes across more effectively in some stories than others (as to be expected). For instance, I struggled quite a bit with the story Big Islan, which was written entirely in Jamaican patois. I struggled to connect with the stories that were accent-heavy, and I didn’t feel that narrating in an accent added to the story (Big Islan, David), given that Beneba Clarke has such a knack for dialogue that that alone gave me such a strong sense of place. Given that the stories followed characters living in London, Sydney, Melbourne, Mississippi, Jamaica and the Sudan (to name a few), this was no easy feat. Nevertheless, I appreciated what Beneba Clarke was trying to do with this device.
My favourite stories were Shu Yi, The Stilt Fishermen of Kathaluwa, and Aviation (which, I understand, is a new addition to the edition I purchased), although Beneba Clarke has an ability to create stories around characters you seemingly have nothing in common with, and make you care about them desperately (and given that the longest story in this collection is around 50 pages… again, no easy feat). The only story in the collection that is even remotely autobiographical is The Sukiyaki Book Club, which references earlier stories in the collection and seemed to document Beneba Clarke’s own struggles in getting published.
Much like The Hate Race, it will be impossible to walk away unaffected by Foreign Soil. With a voice unlike any other, Beneba Clarke is an author who makes me excited for the future of Australian publishing.
kafkaesque666's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75