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A review by balletbookworm
Temporary People by Deepak Unnikrishnan
4.0
A 4.5 star, if we could give half stars.
This is a really striking collection of linked short stories, telling fable-like stories about the exploited workers imported to build the glittering skyline of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Workers turn into suitcases and passports to escape, a woman develops a talent for patching together the men who fall from skyscraper construction sites so that they don't die on company time or property, an elevator develops a shocking proclivity, and the roaches that invade the crumbling homes of workers start taking on human-like traits. "Dreamers" are caught between a country that won't acknowledge them as equal citizens and the families back home in India or beyond who depend on their paychecks. I had a bit of trouble understanding a few stories, but the overall collection is imaginative and devastating. It's a rough read. TW for a few scenes of sexual violence.
This is a really striking collection of linked short stories, telling fable-like stories about the exploited workers imported to build the glittering skyline of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Workers turn into suitcases and passports to escape, a woman develops a talent for patching together the men who fall from skyscraper construction sites so that they don't die on company time or property, an elevator develops a shocking proclivity, and the roaches that invade the crumbling homes of workers start taking on human-like traits. "Dreamers" are caught between a country that won't acknowledge them as equal citizens and the families back home in India or beyond who depend on their paychecks. I had a bit of trouble understanding a few stories, but the overall collection is imaginative and devastating. It's a rough read. TW for a few scenes of sexual violence.