A review by ari76
Mad Country by Samrat Upadhyay

2.0

A solid 2 stars, maybe even 2.5. Mad Country contains eight short stories that center the experiences of Nepali individuals grappling with culture, intersection of identity, and ultimately, themselves. The stories take place within and outside of the borders of Nepal though the country as a thematic undercurrent to each one. I enjoyed this book because it exposed me to a place I know very little about from different perspectives. Freak Street, America the Great Equalizer and elements of Beggar Boy were among the most riveting in this collection. In Freak Street, Upadhyay skillfully addresses a situation in which a Caucasian girl comes to Nepal to find herself, her truth and most notably, a physical and spiritual home. He presents situations in which she asks to be renamed and wants to simply "blend in" while continuously coming into contact with resistance, skepticism, and unfortunately sexual violence because of her social identities. As a person interested in the complexities behind the "Eat. Pray. Love." narrative where (typically white) individuals leave their homes, visit another country and come back whole, it was an intriguing read with more nuance than I expected. While the author mentions colorism in nearly every story, its pairing with anti-Blackness in America the Great Equalizer was striking. I feel that story was the strongest in exemplifying inner turmoil, the internal strife of "people of color" narratives and how oppression can make the oppressed suspicious of one another rather than their oppressor. Compared to Dreaming of Ghana, a story I only appreciated for its commentary on anti-Blackness, America the Great Equalizer was steeped in truth and complexity. In comparison, Dreaming of Ghana was rooted in a confusing plot line, a non-agentic female character and a conclusion that gets lost in the pages. Beggar Boy has a similar flawed, detached protagonist of the other stories in the collection, but the nebulous commentary on queerness combined with the outcome kept me engaged to the end.