A review by bearbookshelf
Send Her Back and Other Stories by Munashe Kaseke

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Send Her Back and Other Stories was an enjoyable, above-average read that offers nuanced, multi-perspective commentary on the socioeconomic realities faced by Zimbabwean women immigrants in America. The majority of these stories - especially those at the centre of the volume: 'The Collector of Degrees,' 'Tsoro,' 'Unseen,' 'Noon,' 'Torture in Minnesota,' 'Ghost of my Mother,' and 'Imported Husband' - were true gems. Each of the narrative voices and experiences related felt individual while maintaining a consistent tone and form of writing, showing a simultaneous heterogeneity and homogeneity in the immigrant experience; relating how each immigrant is a singular being, yet immigrants are still treated, spoken of, etc. as a collective. Other stories in the volume, however, felt a bit flat. Some of the voices began to feel repetitive and the stories lost their individuality... falling into a generalised sense of experience and self. This was particularly true of the story 'Not So Micro' which overly relied on tropic examples of racist microaggressions and in doing so lost the sense of rawness and honesty the other stories possess. Overall, I think this was a good collection but it would be more successful if it were shorter and left the weaker stories out of the volume. I rated this book 3.75/5 stars.