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The Parking Lot Attendant
The story begins on an undisclosed island where the unnamed narrator and her father are the two newest and least liked members of a commune that has taken up residence there. Though the commune was built on utopian principles, it quickly becomes clear that life here is not as harmonious as the founders intended. After immersing us in life on the island, our young heroine takes us back to Boston to recount the events that brought her here. Though she and her father belong to a wide Ethiopian network in the city, they mostly keep to themselves, which is how her father prefers it.
This detached existence only makes Ayale’s arrival on the scene more intoxicating. The unofficial king of Boston’s Ethiopian community, Ayale is a born hustler—when he turns his attention to the narrator, she feels seen for the first time. Ostensibly a parking lot attendant, Ayale soon proves to have other projects in the works, which the narrator becomes more and more entangled in to her father’s growing dismay. By the time the scope of Ayale’s schemes—and their repercussions—become apparent, our narrator has unwittingly become complicit in something much bigger and darker than she ever imagined.
This detached existence only makes Ayale’s arrival on the scene more intoxicating. The unofficial king of Boston’s Ethiopian community, Ayale is a born hustler—when he turns his attention to the narrator, she feels seen for the first time. Ostensibly a parking lot attendant, Ayale soon proves to have other projects in the works, which the narrator becomes more and more entangled in to her father’s growing dismay. By the time the scope of Ayale’s schemes—and their repercussions—become apparent, our narrator has unwittingly become complicit in something much bigger and darker than she ever imagined.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published March 13, 2018
129 people are currently reading
5078 people want to read
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March 7, 2022
I feel like I could make sense of this if I wanted to. I just don't want to.
The thing about a book being incomprehensible is that I have to enjoy reading it enough to want to spend the extra time with it to figure it out.
And this was not pleasurable to read.
So here we are.
Bottom line: Not every challenge is a worthwhile one!
-----------------
reading books by Black authors for Black History Month!
book 1: caste
book 2: business not as usual
book 3: the color purple
book 4: the parking lot attendant
The thing about a book being incomprehensible is that I have to enjoy reading it enough to want to spend the extra time with it to figure it out.
And this was not pleasurable to read.
So here we are.
Bottom line: Not every challenge is a worthwhile one!
-----------------
reading books by Black authors for Black History Month!
book 1: caste
book 2: business not as usual
book 3: the color purple
book 4: the parking lot attendant
March 30, 2018
Okay, I can't do it. This was torturous. I understand having to work hard for clever and complex works of literature, but I fear I might hurt myself if I try any harder to understand what the hell is going on in this book.
I actually just can't make any sense of the plot. There's an unnamed narrator and her father moving from Boston to an - also unnamed - island commune. Then the book shifts and takes us back to Boston and their life leading up to the move. We see how the teenage narrator is drawn towards an older parking lot attendant called Ayale who gradually lures her into his shady world.
Clearly this novel must be deeper than I am capable of seeing, but it felt pointless and meandering to me. Very little seemed to happen. After I made it - confused and disorientated - to the halfway point, the second half was even more difficult to get into and I ended up skim-reading the last 70 pages just to get to the end. If this whole thing is a metaphor, it went sailing right over my head.
Everything was bizarre, nothing seemed quite real and, to be honest with you, I just didn't get it.
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I actually just can't make any sense of the plot. There's an unnamed narrator and her father moving from Boston to an - also unnamed - island commune. Then the book shifts and takes us back to Boston and their life leading up to the move. We see how the teenage narrator is drawn towards an older parking lot attendant called Ayale who gradually lures her into his shady world.
Clearly this novel must be deeper than I am capable of seeing, but it felt pointless and meandering to me. Very little seemed to happen. After I made it - confused and disorientated - to the halfway point, the second half was even more difficult to get into and I ended up skim-reading the last 70 pages just to get to the end. If this whole thing is a metaphor, it went sailing right over my head.
Everything was bizarre, nothing seemed quite real and, to be honest with you, I just didn't get it.
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May 7, 2018
What an enthralling novel. The setting is the best part. Relationships are formed, crimes are committed, and Ethiopian politics are discussed in a Boston parking lot.
When she is 15-years-old and wandering around after school, the protagonist, never named, whom I’ll refer to as P, hears a group of men talking and she is introduced to Ayale, a parking lot attendant. She says, “This was my first encounter with the unofficial intelligence network that includes all Ethiopians in any given locale.” Ayale flatters P for being a scholar and invites her to come back to the parking lot, which she does, every day. Ayale becomes crucial to the way P sees the world.
Other Ethiopians flock to Ayale. A year after their first meeting, P thinks, “Was I the sole person who hadn’t grasped how natural our gravitation toward Ayale was, marked as he was by the sign of the emperor, bestowed upon those whom God himself has elected?” Ayale lavishes her with attention, then snatches it away. She’s devastated when Ayale doesn’t call her for a week. He plays with her affections, acting like nothing is wrong. As readers, we sense something is wrong. We know it’s not sexual, but it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is.
Her withdrawn father, a single parent, forbids her from seeing Ayale, but P ignores him. Ayale and P dine together where she teases that he’ll take his great wealth (he carries a huge bundle of cash on him at all times) to become the right-hand-man of the prime minister. He replies, “Addis Ababa may not be a factor anymore.” This is a foreshadowing that Ayale is not who he says he is.
P constantly throws out lines from Robert Redford movies, frustrating Ayale. It’s random and quite funny, reminding us that P is American while Ethiopian forces seem to surround her in the parking lot and her life when they weren’t there before she met Ayale.
That Ayale is not who we think he is, is evident from the first chapter where we find P and her father on a subtropical island full of Ethiopians. Her father is treated like the messiah because he can fix things and P is an outcast, an interesting situation for a Somalian immigrant’s daughter recently departed from very white Boston. It seems she fits neither in the US nor on this strange island named B------ among people of her own race. Could it be because she’s American? She’s the only woman on the island who smokes. It seems she’s picked up some American habits.
Ultimately, this is the story of how a first-generation immigrant’s loneliness and isolation makes her an easy target by other immigrants with an agenda. Her desire to be part of what she thinks is the Ethiopian community and her refusal to assimilate into the US proves ruinous for her.
Tamirat uses the first person, past tense, writing from P’s point of view, so the reader gets a good look inside a first-generation Ethiopian’s head. She uses lots of dialogue that makes for a fast-paced novel. The sentences are spare and to the point, getting the job done.
Ayale reminds me of an evangelist preacher in a mega-church. He’s a manipulator and a con-artist. Unfortunately, P is too young to see this. Her father is not. But he’s too weak to stop her relationship with Ayale before it gets out of hand.
I was surprised to learn this is a debut novel for Tamirat. I look forward to seeing more from her.
When she is 15-years-old and wandering around after school, the protagonist, never named, whom I’ll refer to as P, hears a group of men talking and she is introduced to Ayale, a parking lot attendant. She says, “This was my first encounter with the unofficial intelligence network that includes all Ethiopians in any given locale.” Ayale flatters P for being a scholar and invites her to come back to the parking lot, which she does, every day. Ayale becomes crucial to the way P sees the world.
Other Ethiopians flock to Ayale. A year after their first meeting, P thinks, “Was I the sole person who hadn’t grasped how natural our gravitation toward Ayale was, marked as he was by the sign of the emperor, bestowed upon those whom God himself has elected?” Ayale lavishes her with attention, then snatches it away. She’s devastated when Ayale doesn’t call her for a week. He plays with her affections, acting like nothing is wrong. As readers, we sense something is wrong. We know it’s not sexual, but it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is.
Her withdrawn father, a single parent, forbids her from seeing Ayale, but P ignores him. Ayale and P dine together where she teases that he’ll take his great wealth (he carries a huge bundle of cash on him at all times) to become the right-hand-man of the prime minister. He replies, “Addis Ababa may not be a factor anymore.” This is a foreshadowing that Ayale is not who he says he is.
P constantly throws out lines from Robert Redford movies, frustrating Ayale. It’s random and quite funny, reminding us that P is American while Ethiopian forces seem to surround her in the parking lot and her life when they weren’t there before she met Ayale.
That Ayale is not who we think he is, is evident from the first chapter where we find P and her father on a subtropical island full of Ethiopians. Her father is treated like the messiah because he can fix things and P is an outcast, an interesting situation for a Somalian immigrant’s daughter recently departed from very white Boston. It seems she fits neither in the US nor on this strange island named B------ among people of her own race. Could it be because she’s American? She’s the only woman on the island who smokes. It seems she’s picked up some American habits.
Ultimately, this is the story of how a first-generation immigrant’s loneliness and isolation makes her an easy target by other immigrants with an agenda. Her desire to be part of what she thinks is the Ethiopian community and her refusal to assimilate into the US proves ruinous for her.
Tamirat uses the first person, past tense, writing from P’s point of view, so the reader gets a good look inside a first-generation Ethiopian’s head. She uses lots of dialogue that makes for a fast-paced novel. The sentences are spare and to the point, getting the job done.
Ayale reminds me of an evangelist preacher in a mega-church. He’s a manipulator and a con-artist. Unfortunately, P is too young to see this. Her father is not. But he’s too weak to stop her relationship with Ayale before it gets out of hand.
I was surprised to learn this is a debut novel for Tamirat. I look forward to seeing more from her.
January 30, 2019
Let's just put it out there: The ambiguity of this book does not feel like a window to different meanings that might enrich the text and get the reader thinking, it rather feels like a sloppy attempt to give the story an experimental feel. The unnamed teenage narrator is the daughter of Ethiopian immigrants and, as her relationship with her parents is rather difficult, she aims to find connection in the Ethiopian community in Boston. The most influential character in this community is the guru-like Ayale, who works as a parking lot attendant. The narrator is soon obsessed with his mysterious persona and does some unspecified errants for him, until she gets drawn into some serious trouble - and you might think now that I am not saying more in order to avoid spoilers, but frankly, even if I wanted to tell you what happens, I couldn't, because it remains unclear. What's clear though: The narrator and her father flee to the island of B- where they hide in a commune. What follows is an utterly confusing ending.
Listen, I love enigmatic and experimental fiction, like Census, H(A)PPY or First Love, but I want to feel like the writer had some concrete ideas regarding the riddles she's planting in the text and wants me to contemplate some concrete questions. What the hell am I to contemplate here? That neglected teenagers are in danger to fall for dangerous characters? That it's hard to be a foreigner? If so, why is it necessary to leave out the exact things that are left out? What does the author want to hint at? I really don't know.
And what's worse: At some point, I stopped caring, because I felt like this story does not care about me as the reader. It was as if I was supposed to be the audience for this show-offy but ultimately pointless tale, not a person the author wanted to communicate with. It's not like Tamirat can't write, there is some good stuff in there, but this book is an Emperor with no clothes when it comes to experimental fiction.
...oh, and on another note: Large parts of the ToB shortlist turn out to be in the "meehh to terrible"-range, although there were so many fantastic books in 2018...
Listen, I love enigmatic and experimental fiction, like Census, H(A)PPY or First Love, but I want to feel like the writer had some concrete ideas regarding the riddles she's planting in the text and wants me to contemplate some concrete questions. What the hell am I to contemplate here? That neglected teenagers are in danger to fall for dangerous characters? That it's hard to be a foreigner? If so, why is it necessary to leave out the exact things that are left out? What does the author want to hint at? I really don't know.
And what's worse: At some point, I stopped caring, because I felt like this story does not care about me as the reader. It was as if I was supposed to be the audience for this show-offy but ultimately pointless tale, not a person the author wanted to communicate with. It's not like Tamirat can't write, there is some good stuff in there, but this book is an Emperor with no clothes when it comes to experimental fiction.
...oh, and on another note: Large parts of the ToB shortlist turn out to be in the "meehh to terrible"-range, although there were so many fantastic books in 2018...
April 28, 2018
The book opens with the musings of a girl with no name who is living with her father in a commune on an island, also with no name. Girl and father seem unwelcome on the island. The story then flashes back to explain how the pair wound up on the island, although for me nothing was really explained adequately. I found the book, and it's point, incomprehensible.
Father (and missing mother) were Ethiopian immigrants. Their daughter was born in the United States. The 15 year old girl falls under the thrall of the charismatic Ayale, a middle aged parking lot attendant who seems to be the local focus of the Ethiopian community. Ayale gets the girl to perform errands of questionable legality. The end of the book shifts back to the island, but don't expect any sort of conclusion. Ayale may be a good guy, bad guy, messiah, con man or crazy person. I have no idea. I just know that this book was not the description of the immigrant experience that I had anticipated and I doubt that I would read this author again.
I won a free copy of this book in a giveaway but the book never arrived. Maybe the publisher was trying to do me a favor. Unfortunately, I borrowed and listened to the audiobook from the library.
Father (and missing mother) were Ethiopian immigrants. Their daughter was born in the United States. The 15 year old girl falls under the thrall of the charismatic Ayale, a middle aged parking lot attendant who seems to be the local focus of the Ethiopian community. Ayale gets the girl to perform errands of questionable legality. The end of the book shifts back to the island, but don't expect any sort of conclusion. Ayale may be a good guy, bad guy, messiah, con man or crazy person. I have no idea. I just know that this book was not the description of the immigrant experience that I had anticipated and I doubt that I would read this author again.
I won a free copy of this book in a giveaway but the book never arrived. Maybe the publisher was trying to do me a favor. Unfortunately, I borrowed and listened to the audiobook from the library.
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October 21, 2017The Parking Lot Attendant gets off to a very engaging start. As described in the blurb, the story begins on an undisclosed island where the unnamed narrator and her father have taken up residence. I found myself wanting to know more about this island but also didn't mind the setting shifting to Boston in order to find out how they ended up on the island and how it came to be.
The second chapter clues us in on how the narrator comes to live with her father, and the third chapter is where she finally meets the parking lot attendant. This is where I expected the story to really take off. Unfortunately, things remain pretty flat and stay that way for most of the book while the narrator develops a 'friendship' with the parking lot attendant, a man older than her father.
As the narrator develops feelings for the parking lot attendant, she is unwittingly made part of the attendant's underground world, which is directly related to the community that's taken up residence on the island. There is mention of the Ethiopian–Somali conflict as part of the reason for this new community, a pretty heavy topic to toss into the background of a coming-of-age story. Honestly, I think the community that's taken up residence on the island and the reason behind it is a much more compelling narrative and it distracted me from the story at hand.
I did appreciate the snarky and somewhat cynical narrator. Her outlook on things made me laugh on several occasions. Being a first generation American and the child of Ethiopian parents, the narrator regularly references the stereotypes and challenges that are ever-present in school and in the community.
I had a rough go with this novel: I feel like there are two stories that need to be pulled apart. And I realize it's not fair to conflate the rating of the book I wish the author wrote with the book the author did write, which is why I left this book unrated. Since I can recall other coming-of-age stories that I wasn't a huge fan of, I think I was more interested in the 'other story' because coming-of-age stories just aren't my thing.
The second chapter clues us in on how the narrator comes to live with her father, and the third chapter is where she finally meets the parking lot attendant. This is where I expected the story to really take off. Unfortunately, things remain pretty flat and stay that way for most of the book while the narrator develops a 'friendship' with the parking lot attendant, a man older than her father.
As the narrator develops feelings for the parking lot attendant, she is unwittingly made part of the attendant's underground world, which is directly related to the community that's taken up residence on the island. There is mention of the Ethiopian–Somali conflict as part of the reason for this new community, a pretty heavy topic to toss into the background of a coming-of-age story. Honestly, I think the community that's taken up residence on the island and the reason behind it is a much more compelling narrative and it distracted me from the story at hand.
I did appreciate the snarky and somewhat cynical narrator. Her outlook on things made me laugh on several occasions. Being a first generation American and the child of Ethiopian parents, the narrator regularly references the stereotypes and challenges that are ever-present in school and in the community.
I had a rough go with this novel: I feel like there are two stories that need to be pulled apart. And I realize it's not fair to conflate the rating of the book I wish the author wrote with the book the author did write, which is why I left this book unrated. Since I can recall other coming-of-age stories that I wasn't a huge fan of, I think I was more interested in the 'other story' because coming-of-age stories just aren't my thing.
January 26, 2019
Thank you so much to Henry Holt for providing my free copy of THE PARKING LOT ATTENDANT by Nafkote Tamirat- all opinions are my own.
The book opens with an unnamed narrator, a teenage girl from Boston, and her Ethiopian immigrant father, living on an undisclosed island. The story then switches back to life if Boston, prior to the island, where her parents are still together. Here, she starts hanging around a man named Ayale, a parking lot attendant. In the subsequent chapters, the narrator recounts the events that led up to living on the island and eventually meeting Ayale, a man she is so bewitched by that she is blind to what he truly is.
This essentially is a coming-of-age story of a young narrator who has an estranged relationship with her parents. It starts off a bit rough, but once I kept reading, it pulled me in. Tamirat does a fantastic job writing these characters: Ayale is complex and charismatic while our young narrator is clever and witty. I enjoyed seeing the world through her eyes, learning about her family, and the Ethiopian community. Some areas of the story seemed a bit far-fetched, but it didn't bother me. Overall, I really enjoyed it!
The book opens with an unnamed narrator, a teenage girl from Boston, and her Ethiopian immigrant father, living on an undisclosed island. The story then switches back to life if Boston, prior to the island, where her parents are still together. Here, she starts hanging around a man named Ayale, a parking lot attendant. In the subsequent chapters, the narrator recounts the events that led up to living on the island and eventually meeting Ayale, a man she is so bewitched by that she is blind to what he truly is.
This essentially is a coming-of-age story of a young narrator who has an estranged relationship with her parents. It starts off a bit rough, but once I kept reading, it pulled me in. Tamirat does a fantastic job writing these characters: Ayale is complex and charismatic while our young narrator is clever and witty. I enjoyed seeing the world through her eyes, learning about her family, and the Ethiopian community. Some areas of the story seemed a bit far-fetched, but it didn't bother me. Overall, I really enjoyed it!
May 15, 2018
To be honest, I’m not exactly sure what happened in this book. Things go from vaguely suspicious to dead serious without much clarity. I was ok with the writing and the story between the father and daughter, but there was just too much left out from the plot for this to be a pick. I kept expecting more of a reveal that never came in the end.
April 20, 2018
The Parking Lot Attendant by Nafkote Tamirat was captivating from page one. We're introduced to our narrator whose story begins on an undisclosed island where it's clear she and her father might be outcasts of sorts. This unnamed island has become home to the narrator and her father along with other Ethiopians that believed in Ayale.
Our narrator recounts the events that led to her being on this island that was to serve as a sort of Utopia for herself and the current residents but they all soon find that life isn't as easy as their deliverer, Ayale, would have them believe.
At the heart of the story we're being taken on a coming-of-age journey of a young girl who was once abandoned by her father only to have him return and then abandoned by her mother. Her father raises her almost at a distance. Neither are ever really close. There are few daddy and daughter moments. It is perhaps this distance relationship that drives her to fall madly for Ayale. He is close in age to her father but he's so different than he.
Ayale is described as a born leader and is quite complicated. The narrator describes him in the most glowing of lights even as she sees that all that glimmers isn't gold. Before long a series of murders strikes this Boston based Ethiopian community that forces our heroine to see Ayale different. But not before he's already taught her to see the world different.
Nafkote Tamirat writes an engaging coming of age story that has offers a compelling voice. There was something about the way the story flows and the narrators voice that enticed me to read further. Yes, the story was interesting but I felt more entranced with the narrator. It's obvious that she's looking for something and is hopeful to have found it but can't quite obtain it.
I definitely would recommend The Parking Lot Attendant to friends. I think it's an interesting journey of finding ones self that readers will want to see all the way through. Tamirat has peaked my interest. I'll certainly be looking forward to more from this author. ****
Copy provided by Henry Holt & Company via Netgalley
Our narrator recounts the events that led to her being on this island that was to serve as a sort of Utopia for herself and the current residents but they all soon find that life isn't as easy as their deliverer, Ayale, would have them believe.
At the heart of the story we're being taken on a coming-of-age journey of a young girl who was once abandoned by her father only to have him return and then abandoned by her mother. Her father raises her almost at a distance. Neither are ever really close. There are few daddy and daughter moments. It is perhaps this distance relationship that drives her to fall madly for Ayale. He is close in age to her father but he's so different than he.
Ayale is described as a born leader and is quite complicated. The narrator describes him in the most glowing of lights even as she sees that all that glimmers isn't gold. Before long a series of murders strikes this Boston based Ethiopian community that forces our heroine to see Ayale different. But not before he's already taught her to see the world different.
Nafkote Tamirat writes an engaging coming of age story that has offers a compelling voice. There was something about the way the story flows and the narrators voice that enticed me to read further. Yes, the story was interesting but I felt more entranced with the narrator. It's obvious that she's looking for something and is hopeful to have found it but can't quite obtain it.
I definitely would recommend The Parking Lot Attendant to friends. I think it's an interesting journey of finding ones self that readers will want to see all the way through. Tamirat has peaked my interest. I'll certainly be looking forward to more from this author. ****
Copy provided by Henry Holt & Company via Netgalley
January 18, 2019
Disorganized, discursive, and disappointing.
2.5 stars
2.5 stars
March 26, 2018
I’ve been a voracious reader as far back as I can remember. In second grade, I read the entire Black Stallion series by Walter Farley twice through and regretted the ending of every installment—all eighteen of them—two times over, wishing I could remain in the exciting world of fiction indefinitely. This feeling has repeated itself so many times since I could not count the number. My voracity, though, had a price. I always chose story over literary magnitude. I was a not a reading snob. I read The Goonies in seventh grade—War and Peace it was not, though I read that when I was nineteen and could not tell you a damn thing about it. I had no interest in careful, critical assessment. If I didn’t understand a word, I blazed past it. If prose got boring, I went on autopilot until the story resumed my desired level of interest. As I’ve aged, my need and desire for heightened literary merit has increased, as has my ability to critically assess better what I’m reading. However, when I come across a novel with an arcane tilt, where what is written is as important as what is not, I immediately worry that the reading habits of my youth created blind spots in my ability to understand concepts foreign to my knowledge base.
So I come to Nafkote Tamirat’s debut novel, The Parking Lot Attendant. There’s an edge to her writing that made me wonder if, when, how, everything was going to implode. The novel opens on “the island of B-,” where a group of idealistic nonnatives have formed a commune as a potential jumping-off point for something larger. The young narrator and her father are newly arrived on the island and aren’t doing a good job of adapting to life with the Danga, the self-titled name for the commune members. Once I was sufficiently unsettled by the narrator’s take on her current situation, she jumps back in time to her old life in Boston with her father and how it led to her present situation. The narrator’s teenage years in Boston center on a respected, and feared, Ethiopian Svengali named Ayale who appears to be using his position as a parking lot attendant to oversee multiple illicit activities. With Lolitaesque undertones, the narrator’s relationship with Ayale slowly morphs from an innocent connection between an underage girl and an older man apparently filling in the emotional bare spots of her relationship with her father into something more sinister and foreboding, carrying the narrator into a world she could neither imagine nor believe existed until she finds herself at the center of the hurricane. Much of the magic in Tamirat’s writing lies in the subtext: how she plants a seed of direction without defining every moment of action, and thus forcing me to wonder when the action was going to take a distinctly nefarious turn. I finished the book a couple weeks ago and I’m still considering the narrator’s fate—what happened to her, what she should have done differently, whether I’m comfortable with the denouement. And therein lies the beauty of Tamirat’s writing: creating the need to ponder, digest, struggle with a fictional reality that is a little too close to the reality of our world.
So I come to Nafkote Tamirat’s debut novel, The Parking Lot Attendant. There’s an edge to her writing that made me wonder if, when, how, everything was going to implode. The novel opens on “the island of B-,” where a group of idealistic nonnatives have formed a commune as a potential jumping-off point for something larger. The young narrator and her father are newly arrived on the island and aren’t doing a good job of adapting to life with the Danga, the self-titled name for the commune members. Once I was sufficiently unsettled by the narrator’s take on her current situation, she jumps back in time to her old life in Boston with her father and how it led to her present situation. The narrator’s teenage years in Boston center on a respected, and feared, Ethiopian Svengali named Ayale who appears to be using his position as a parking lot attendant to oversee multiple illicit activities. With Lolitaesque undertones, the narrator’s relationship with Ayale slowly morphs from an innocent connection between an underage girl and an older man apparently filling in the emotional bare spots of her relationship with her father into something more sinister and foreboding, carrying the narrator into a world she could neither imagine nor believe existed until she finds herself at the center of the hurricane. Much of the magic in Tamirat’s writing lies in the subtext: how she plants a seed of direction without defining every moment of action, and thus forcing me to wonder when the action was going to take a distinctly nefarious turn. I finished the book a couple weeks ago and I’m still considering the narrator’s fate—what happened to her, what she should have done differently, whether I’m comfortable with the denouement. And therein lies the beauty of Tamirat’s writing: creating the need to ponder, digest, struggle with a fictional reality that is a little too close to the reality of our world.
December 21, 2018
2.5, rounded up.
August 29, 2019
An unnamed Ethiopian-American teen finds solace in her friendship with older, charismatic parking lot attendant, Ayale. He fills the gaps in her unstable home life, but he’s not completely forthcoming with his business practices. He preys on her vulnerability. There’s a pant load of ambiguity here, but it works. This is more than an immigrant story, it’s about a cult. That’s my theory anyway.
Bahni Turpin’s audio narration was brilliant as always.
Bahni Turpin’s audio narration was brilliant as always.
February 28, 2018
The Parking Lot Attendant by Nafkote Tamirat was captivating from page one. We're introduced to our narrator whose story begins on an undisclosed island where it's clear she and her father might be outcasts of sorts. This unnamed island has become home to the narrator and her father along with other Ethiopians that believed in Ayale.
Our narrator recounts the events that led to her being on this island that was to serve as a sort of Utopia for herself and the current residents but they all soon find that life isn't as easy as their deliverer, Ayale, would have them believe.
At the heart of the story we're being taken on a coming-of-age journey of a young girl who was once abandoned by her father only to have him return and then abandoned by her mother. Her father raises her almost at a distance. Neither are ever really close. There are few daddy and daughter moments. It is perhaps this distance relationship that drives her to fall madly for Ayale. He is close in age to her father but he's so different than he.
Ayale is described as a born leader and is quite complicated. The narrator describes him in the most glowing of lights even as she sees that all that glimmers isn't gold. Before long a series of murders strikes this Boston based Ethiopian community that forces our heroine to see Ayale different. But not before he's already taught her to see the world different.
Nafkote Tamirat writes an engaging coming of age story that has offers a compelling voice. There was something about the way the story flows and the narrators voice that enticed me to read further. Yes, the story was interesting but I felt more entranced with the narrator. It's obvious that she's looking for something and is hopeful to have found it but can't quite obtain it.
I definitely would recommend this novel to friends. I think it's an interesting journey of finding ones self that readers will want to see all the way through. Tamirat has peaked my interest. I'll certainly be looking foward to more from this author.
Copy provided by Henry Holt & Company via Netgalley
Our narrator recounts the events that led to her being on this island that was to serve as a sort of Utopia for herself and the current residents but they all soon find that life isn't as easy as their deliverer, Ayale, would have them believe.
At the heart of the story we're being taken on a coming-of-age journey of a young girl who was once abandoned by her father only to have him return and then abandoned by her mother. Her father raises her almost at a distance. Neither are ever really close. There are few daddy and daughter moments. It is perhaps this distance relationship that drives her to fall madly for Ayale. He is close in age to her father but he's so different than he.
Ayale is described as a born leader and is quite complicated. The narrator describes him in the most glowing of lights even as she sees that all that glimmers isn't gold. Before long a series of murders strikes this Boston based Ethiopian community that forces our heroine to see Ayale different. But not before he's already taught her to see the world different.
Nafkote Tamirat writes an engaging coming of age story that has offers a compelling voice. There was something about the way the story flows and the narrators voice that enticed me to read further. Yes, the story was interesting but I felt more entranced with the narrator. It's obvious that she's looking for something and is hopeful to have found it but can't quite obtain it.
I definitely would recommend this novel to friends. I think it's an interesting journey of finding ones self that readers will want to see all the way through. Tamirat has peaked my interest. I'll certainly be looking foward to more from this author.
Copy provided by Henry Holt & Company via Netgalley
January 26, 2019
Notes on The Parking Lot Attendant: a different way of reviewing a book
From page 4, “She’s a story teller. Every empire requires a good origin story: at the beginning the people did this , the people killed that , the people spun these lies into truths into present glory, etcetera, etcetera. She can create the legend you need for legitimacy and to make people forget.”
As a reader I always enjoy meta-dialog , dialog that takes a break from plot, that tells the reader what they are in for beyond plot.
From page 38, This was before restaurants saw macaroni and cheese as something to specialize in, charging ridiculous prices because it was covered in bread crumbs , bacon , gorgonzola-wrapped apple slices, diamond flecks, mother of pearl crustaceans. Real macaroni and cheese will always come from a blue-and -yellow box…
I feel the same way about gourmet or elevated comfort food, that of the hostel hipster take-over of a city’s restaurants. Why does meatloaf or mac and cheese need to be elevated? Who gets to elevate food of an other’s culture or class? Well affluent white people the vast majority of the time, certainly not a city’s immigrate population, such as Boston’s Ethiopian population that are the focus of the novel. The foodie culture by and larger are about what this white person ate, chalk full of ripping off other cultures. We (our so called culture) never bothering or barley, to listen to stories of parking lot attendants, cab drivers, porters, janitors, and security guards. Jobs held by immigrates, People of Color and those born in to poverty. Class and Racism are two peas in the same pod of oppression. When we do celebrate our Immigrant population it is mostly those that can pass a white anglo-saxon and never those whom work low wage, union jobs or low skilled labor.
Nafkote Tamirat’s novel is refreshing. Though due to its heavy dialog and subject matter, a style that is non-MFA style, that is free of gimmicks, that while a quick read is still a dense read , waiting to the answer the ‘whys’ towards the end, ( all of which I like) The Parking Lot Attendant will remain below the radar, especially in The Untied States. Still I wish this novel would of gotten more praise. I loved the dialog, which remined me of the early works of Don DeLillo. Both DeLillo and Tamirat are like surgeons who dissect the under-layers of society, steeped in fear and oppression and obsession of power.
From page 4, “She’s a story teller. Every empire requires a good origin story: at the beginning the people did this , the people killed that , the people spun these lies into truths into present glory, etcetera, etcetera. She can create the legend you need for legitimacy and to make people forget.”
As a reader I always enjoy meta-dialog , dialog that takes a break from plot, that tells the reader what they are in for beyond plot.
From page 38, This was before restaurants saw macaroni and cheese as something to specialize in, charging ridiculous prices because it was covered in bread crumbs , bacon , gorgonzola-wrapped apple slices, diamond flecks, mother of pearl crustaceans. Real macaroni and cheese will always come from a blue-and -yellow box…
I feel the same way about gourmet or elevated comfort food, that of the hostel hipster take-over of a city’s restaurants. Why does meatloaf or mac and cheese need to be elevated? Who gets to elevate food of an other’s culture or class? Well affluent white people the vast majority of the time, certainly not a city’s immigrate population, such as Boston’s Ethiopian population that are the focus of the novel. The foodie culture by and larger are about what this white person ate, chalk full of ripping off other cultures. We (our so called culture) never bothering or barley, to listen to stories of parking lot attendants, cab drivers, porters, janitors, and security guards. Jobs held by immigrates, People of Color and those born in to poverty. Class and Racism are two peas in the same pod of oppression. When we do celebrate our Immigrant population it is mostly those that can pass a white anglo-saxon and never those whom work low wage, union jobs or low skilled labor.
Nafkote Tamirat’s novel is refreshing. Though due to its heavy dialog and subject matter, a style that is non-MFA style, that is free of gimmicks, that while a quick read is still a dense read , waiting to the answer the ‘whys’ towards the end, ( all of which I like) The Parking Lot Attendant will remain below the radar, especially in The Untied States. Still I wish this novel would of gotten more praise. I loved the dialog, which remined me of the early works of Don DeLillo. Both DeLillo and Tamirat are like surgeons who dissect the under-layers of society, steeped in fear and oppression and obsession of power.
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March 12, 2018The unnamed narrator is the breakout star of The Parking Lot Attendant, she is witty and sarcastic. Her story is fresh and unlike anything we have read before. The story felt somewhat satirical; however, it was quite difficult to gauge in this was intentional or accidental. Moreover, it was a quick read and would make a great beach or weekend read.
Unfortunately, we were unable to connect with this novel as it contained instances of Islamophobia, ableism, sexism and homophobia. Additionally, the story felt disjointed and inconsistent, flowing in some areas but halting and uncertain in others.
The dialogue required constant attention to parse, and it was often difficult to match the appropriate speaker. This novel would have benefitted from greater attention to a central storyline and more in-depth character development. This lack of detail resulted in a story that felt unfinished, particularly as it relates to the major secondary characters.
At the moment, we are unable to recommend the Parking Lot Attendant.
Thank you to Henry Holt for sending Rebel Women Lit a copy of The Parking Lot Attendant in exchange for an honest review.
The Parking Lot Attendant was reviewed by Rebel Kaymara Barrett
Unfortunately, we were unable to connect with this novel as it contained instances of Islamophobia, ableism, sexism and homophobia. Additionally, the story felt disjointed and inconsistent, flowing in some areas but halting and uncertain in others.
The dialogue required constant attention to parse, and it was often difficult to match the appropriate speaker. This novel would have benefitted from greater attention to a central storyline and more in-depth character development. This lack of detail resulted in a story that felt unfinished, particularly as it relates to the major secondary characters.
At the moment, we are unable to recommend the Parking Lot Attendant.
Thank you to Henry Holt for sending Rebel Women Lit a copy of The Parking Lot Attendant in exchange for an honest review.
The Parking Lot Attendant was reviewed by Rebel Kaymara Barrett
December 14, 2018
I feel like the final 1/3 of the book really redeemed the first 2/3 which I found a little dull. The ending was wonderful, I thought, distressing but kind of cathartic in a way, but also terrifying because you know she's not really gonna be safe until she's safe, and there's no foreseeable...escape. The first 2/3 of the book really felt like an extended world-building sequence where we are introduced and get to know a few characters and the setting. The book didn't really turn around for me until Ayale's network of schemes, and the masterplan behind that scheme, was brought to light. Finally returning to the island after the opening chapter was a relief as I'd basically forgotten all about that part.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 21, 2018
Some nice elements but the plotting and characterizations seemed half-baked.
October 1, 2019
Y'all, I am so glad I stumbled into reading this book! The flap blurb positions this novel as a “mesmerizing, strikingly original coming-of-age story about a girl in Boston’s tight-knit Ethiopian community who falls under the spell of a charismatic hustler whose passionate philosophies about America will change both their lives forever” and then you start reading the book and it opens on an island and the narrator appears to be part of some sort of maybe cult and I was HERE FOR IT and immediately sucked in.
I loved the reading experience, between the snarky and sarcastic narrator and her steadily unfolding tale of falling in with the parking lot attendant Ayale, peppered with expert foreshadowing that had me guessing at the plotting taking place outside the scope of her naïve vision. On top of the edge-of-my-seat plot Tamirat lays down delicate threads exploring first and second generation American immigrant experience. And the ending! I'm desperate to discuss 🤯 I have a strong feeling that there's second levels of meaning to be teased out of this novel, but a fast paced skimming the surface read was thoroughly enjoyable and thought provoking as well. Definitely recommend you read this book, and do it asap to discuss with me while it's still fresh, please and thank you!
I loved the reading experience, between the snarky and sarcastic narrator and her steadily unfolding tale of falling in with the parking lot attendant Ayale, peppered with expert foreshadowing that had me guessing at the plotting taking place outside the scope of her naïve vision. On top of the edge-of-my-seat plot Tamirat lays down delicate threads exploring first and second generation American immigrant experience. And the ending! I'm desperate to discuss 🤯 I have a strong feeling that there's second levels of meaning to be teased out of this novel, but a fast paced skimming the surface read was thoroughly enjoyable and thought provoking as well. Definitely recommend you read this book, and do it asap to discuss with me while it's still fresh, please and thank you!
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June 2, 2018I feel bad. I was really excited to read this when I heard about last year... but it's such an awk story.
I think I'd appreciate this better if it were a film. I liked the main character though - her wit was everything. But this book is a no from me :(
I think I'd appreciate this better if it were a film. I liked the main character though - her wit was everything. But this book is a no from me :(
December 17, 2018
With the first chapter of this book Tamirat intentionally leaves the reader puzzled and bemused. The protagonist, whose name we are not told, and her father have arrived at an island, whose name we are also not told. This island is six hundred miles away from any land mass in every direction. Only twenty people live in the small community where they arrive, and this arrival is not welcome or wanted. After a month the father is told they must leave the island. The father, trying to save himself and daughter, mentions the mysterious Avale and that it was his daughter who saved him from being caught. The mystery thickens. They are finally accepted and are told that they must live within the strict conditions of the island’s constitution, which by the way is written in the inhabitant[‘s blood.
With the second chapter we are taken back in time when the Father and Daughter were living in Boston. This sudden transition is bracing and upon first reading, almost feels like a different novel. However, I found that the writing improved with each chapter and this is a debut novel.
It is at this point in the novel they we meet the enigmatic Avale. We find that the daughter’s relationship with her father is strained at best and this strain grows daily. When she meets Avale he quickly assumes the role of a father figure and mentor. His presence in the daughter’s life grows as her father’s diminishes. Again, Tamirat leaves the reader guessing as to just what or who Avale really is. Officially he is the parking lot attendant but it is obvious to the daughter that he is so much more, and yet even after two years she is still not quite sure what his goal is.
I believe that the constant mystery that envelops this book is its greatest strength. It is a debut novel and it does show, but the smoke and mirrors of the narrative keep the reader turning the page to find out the answers to the puzzles, and Tamirat keeps you guessing right till the end. The underlying theme to this novel seems to be immigration and integration. A theme that is very popular these days. The daughter never feels “at home” anywhere, not in Boston, not on the island. She feels a profound lack of identity and is searching not just for home but for herself.
I did enjoy this novel and think that Tamirat shows great potential. 3.5 Stars.
With the second chapter we are taken back in time when the Father and Daughter were living in Boston. This sudden transition is bracing and upon first reading, almost feels like a different novel. However, I found that the writing improved with each chapter and this is a debut novel.
It is at this point in the novel they we meet the enigmatic Avale. We find that the daughter’s relationship with her father is strained at best and this strain grows daily. When she meets Avale he quickly assumes the role of a father figure and mentor. His presence in the daughter’s life grows as her father’s diminishes. Again, Tamirat leaves the reader guessing as to just what or who Avale really is. Officially he is the parking lot attendant but it is obvious to the daughter that he is so much more, and yet even after two years she is still not quite sure what his goal is.
I believe that the constant mystery that envelops this book is its greatest strength. It is a debut novel and it does show, but the smoke and mirrors of the narrative keep the reader turning the page to find out the answers to the puzzles, and Tamirat keeps you guessing right till the end. The underlying theme to this novel seems to be immigration and integration. A theme that is very popular these days. The daughter never feels “at home” anywhere, not in Boston, not on the island. She feels a profound lack of identity and is searching not just for home but for herself.
I did enjoy this novel and think that Tamirat shows great potential. 3.5 Stars.
March 29, 2018
3.5 stars.
The Parking Lot Attendant is narrated by a teenage girl whose name we’re not told. The book starts off on an undisclosed island only identified as B—. However, a couple of chapters in, our narrator takes us back to Boston to share how she and her father, both Ethiopian immigrants, ended up on B—.
I was so disoriented at the start of this read, perhaps because everything felt so foreign and unidentified. Still, I pushed through and the story, in my opinion is surprisingly rewarding. The narrator develops a relationship with an Ethiopian Parking Lot Attendant named Ayale and that’s where things begin to get interesting.
The narrator’s relationship with Ayale and also her relationship with her father make for an interesting discussion on the desire to be loved, the need for acceptance and the fear of abandonment. I disliked Ayale’s character but greatly enjoyed Tamirat’s telling of the events. The author obviously has a way with words and I reread many sentences, just in awe of her intricate expressions. Her writing isn’t exactly poetic, but she is immensely articulate.
The flaws in this book begin with how difficult it might be to get into it. There’s also the fact that while the narrator is witty and often sarcastic, sometimes her expressions border on just plain disrespectful. Also, parts of the final quarter of the book feel rushed, as though the writer might have lost the plot.
Yet, the ending was an unexpected gut punch for me. I got more attached to the characters than I realized. In summary, Nafkote Tamirat’s debut is slow, thought provoking and unconventional. It’s one of those books I think more people should read, just to facilitate a more nuanced discussion.
Thanks to Henry Holt and co for an Advance Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Parking Lot Attendant is narrated by a teenage girl whose name we’re not told. The book starts off on an undisclosed island only identified as B—. However, a couple of chapters in, our narrator takes us back to Boston to share how she and her father, both Ethiopian immigrants, ended up on B—.
I was so disoriented at the start of this read, perhaps because everything felt so foreign and unidentified. Still, I pushed through and the story, in my opinion is surprisingly rewarding. The narrator develops a relationship with an Ethiopian Parking Lot Attendant named Ayale and that’s where things begin to get interesting.
The narrator’s relationship with Ayale and also her relationship with her father make for an interesting discussion on the desire to be loved, the need for acceptance and the fear of abandonment. I disliked Ayale’s character but greatly enjoyed Tamirat’s telling of the events. The author obviously has a way with words and I reread many sentences, just in awe of her intricate expressions. Her writing isn’t exactly poetic, but she is immensely articulate.
The flaws in this book begin with how difficult it might be to get into it. There’s also the fact that while the narrator is witty and often sarcastic, sometimes her expressions border on just plain disrespectful. Also, parts of the final quarter of the book feel rushed, as though the writer might have lost the plot.
Yet, the ending was an unexpected gut punch for me. I got more attached to the characters than I realized. In summary, Nafkote Tamirat’s debut is slow, thought provoking and unconventional. It’s one of those books I think more people should read, just to facilitate a more nuanced discussion.
Thanks to Henry Holt and co for an Advance Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
April 12, 2018
It has not escaped us that older generations must do all they can to improve the lives of future ones, but we had believed ourselves to be the future. We were under the impression that we were the owed ones. We had not counted on this debt of service.
This book begins on an unnamed sub-tropical island, where the narrator and her father are living with a cult-like group for reasons that are unclear. The novel then jumps to the central story, a less fantastic one about a teenage girl, the child of Ethiopian immigrants, who becomes drawn to an older charismatic man who manages a Boston parking lot, but who is also involved in some other stuff, stuff the girl knows nothing about.
At heart, this is a small story, of a girl figuring out her world and how she fits into it, as a second generation immigrant, as a daughter being raised by a single father, as a black girl in a school with nobody like her, as a girl growing up. The titular parking lot attendant, Ayale, is a mysterious figure and the attention he pays to the protagonist is equally inexplicable, although she is bright and interested in the world around her and he seems pleased to have someone so obviously fascinated by him without wanting any favors. The framing device of the cult living on the island is not effective, nor does it add anything to the story. Fortunately, it takes up only a few pages at each end of the novel.
This book begins on an unnamed sub-tropical island, where the narrator and her father are living with a cult-like group for reasons that are unclear. The novel then jumps to the central story, a less fantastic one about a teenage girl, the child of Ethiopian immigrants, who becomes drawn to an older charismatic man who manages a Boston parking lot, but who is also involved in some other stuff, stuff the girl knows nothing about.
At heart, this is a small story, of a girl figuring out her world and how she fits into it, as a second generation immigrant, as a daughter being raised by a single father, as a black girl in a school with nobody like her, as a girl growing up. The titular parking lot attendant, Ayale, is a mysterious figure and the attention he pays to the protagonist is equally inexplicable, although she is bright and interested in the world around her and he seems pleased to have someone so obviously fascinated by him without wanting any favors. The framing device of the cult living on the island is not effective, nor does it add anything to the story. Fortunately, it takes up only a few pages at each end of the novel.
June 27, 2018
I’ll take ambition over perfection and this was raw ambition. When it worked it was wildly impressive and when it didn’t I could intuit Tamirat’s intention and for a debut perhaps that’s enough. Also, give me a witty and salty unnamed narrator and I’m yours.
did-not-finish
August 16, 2021Almost no one on Goodreads seemed to like this, but I had to see for myself. I saw for myself after twenty pages that—in this instance at least—the majority opinion is also mine. I shall put this one down now.
December 23, 2018
Fantastic narrative voice and I love the relationship between the narrator and her father. The beginning and ending sections are great -- the middle section drags even though this is a very short book. It feels like it could have been a fantastic short story.
March 27, 2019
I read this debut novel about Ethiopian immigrants living in Boston because it was a contender for the 2019 Tournament of Books. I am feeling pretty mighty because this year I managed to read 14 of the 18 books selected for the Tournament, with two more I intend to read over the next month or so.
The story is gloriously off-kilter. If you live in any large city, you probably use downtown parking lots. In Los Angeles these are sometimes in permanent locations and other times are pop-up affairs on evenings and weekends. You turn your keys over to some guy who is clearly not white mainstream American. You hope you get your car back without dents. You don't leave valuables in your car and you are careful not to lose your ticket. Usually you pay a pretty good price for not having to drive around looking for a place to park.
But have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes? Wonder no more. The Parking Lot Attendant has two main characters. Ayale, who runs the lot, and the narrator, an unnamed 15 year old girl. All the characters are Ethiopian but you only get to know Ayale, the narrator, and her father.
Ayale is a character right out of an Iris Murdoch novel: charismatic, controlling, hidden agenda. The girl, having an absent mother and a mostly silent father, falls under Ayale's spell. She is in it for the attention she gets from him but does not know enough about the world to understand how she is being manipulated. Ayale turns out to be a schemer, amassing a following and the funds to take back political power in Ethiopia; at least that is his plan.
This novel is a mostly successful mashup of unreliable narrator, coming-of-age, loss of innocence, African politics and the alienation of the immigrant. Pretty good stuff, experimental in an accessible way while it plays on the reader's heart.
By the end I was singing a Beatles song in my head:
"You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to save the world"
Revolution, 1968
The story is gloriously off-kilter. If you live in any large city, you probably use downtown parking lots. In Los Angeles these are sometimes in permanent locations and other times are pop-up affairs on evenings and weekends. You turn your keys over to some guy who is clearly not white mainstream American. You hope you get your car back without dents. You don't leave valuables in your car and you are careful not to lose your ticket. Usually you pay a pretty good price for not having to drive around looking for a place to park.
But have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes? Wonder no more. The Parking Lot Attendant has two main characters. Ayale, who runs the lot, and the narrator, an unnamed 15 year old girl. All the characters are Ethiopian but you only get to know Ayale, the narrator, and her father.
Ayale is a character right out of an Iris Murdoch novel: charismatic, controlling, hidden agenda. The girl, having an absent mother and a mostly silent father, falls under Ayale's spell. She is in it for the attention she gets from him but does not know enough about the world to understand how she is being manipulated. Ayale turns out to be a schemer, amassing a following and the funds to take back political power in Ethiopia; at least that is his plan.
This novel is a mostly successful mashup of unreliable narrator, coming-of-age, loss of innocence, African politics and the alienation of the immigrant. Pretty good stuff, experimental in an accessible way while it plays on the reader's heart.
By the end I was singing a Beatles song in my head:
"You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to save the world"
Revolution, 1968
February 23, 2018
Rarely have I felt so wishy washy about a book. The blurb was intriguing and I was anxious to read the novel that began with an unnamed narrator and her father living on some island with the setting then switching to Boston. The second chapter provides information about the living situation of the narrator and her father and the third chapter focuses on the parking lot attendant. Unfortunately, the story fell short at this point. As the narrator is shown to be a young Ethiopian woman drawn to the older parking lot attendant, there is some mystery, but there was confusion as well as the author seems to be tackling two divergent stories. Sorry, but this just didn't work for me.
May 27, 2018
“Look back on the past, given what you know in the present, and you'll realize that all along, you've been inventing stories and labeling them 'history'.”
The novel opens with a father and daughter arriving on a utopian island, where a commune has taken refuge but it is clearly not a place of comfort and harmony. How this Ethiopian teenager arrived here, along with her life in Boston, in the preceding years, which includes her unusual friendship with a mysterious Ethiopian man, named Ayale, who works as a parking lot attendant, makes for a very interesting and engaging story. I recommend this book and look forward to reading more of this talented author's work.
The novel opens with a father and daughter arriving on a utopian island, where a commune has taken refuge but it is clearly not a place of comfort and harmony. How this Ethiopian teenager arrived here, along with her life in Boston, in the preceding years, which includes her unusual friendship with a mysterious Ethiopian man, named Ayale, who works as a parking lot attendant, makes for a very interesting and engaging story. I recommend this book and look forward to reading more of this talented author's work.
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January 25, 2019What begins as a quirky mystery about an unnamed Ethiopian-American teen in Boston becomes something much more. Beginning with the narrator and her father on a remote island ruled by a shadowy cabal, the bulk of the novel jettisons this setting to explain how the pair arrived there. Our unnamed narrator, raised by a single father with little ties to the Boston Ethiopian community, finally finds a sense of community in a parking lot, run by a mysterious man named Ayale. But Ayale's interest in her intellect is, of course, cover for something much more sinister.
The turns the novel takes in its final quarter genuinely disarmed me, and I'll avoid saying much more for the sake of preserving the immense surprise I felt as the book raced toward its conclusion. At times, the elliptical dialogue frustrated me, and it seemed some important plot developments—for instance, a love triangle involving Ayale and two supporting adult characters—were thinly sketched or left too much between the lines. But ultimately, this was a fascinating and stylistically impressive examination of first-generation immigrants, diasporic communities, and the liminal spaces occupied by those like the narrator. Despite some flaws, I strongly recommend this to anyone interested in these topics and am excited to see what Tamirat does next.
The turns the novel takes in its final quarter genuinely disarmed me, and I'll avoid saying much more for the sake of preserving the immense surprise I felt as the book raced toward its conclusion. At times, the elliptical dialogue frustrated me, and it seemed some important plot developments—for instance, a love triangle involving Ayale and two supporting adult characters—were thinly sketched or left too much between the lines. But ultimately, this was a fascinating and stylistically impressive examination of first-generation immigrants, diasporic communities, and the liminal spaces occupied by those like the narrator. Despite some flaws, I strongly recommend this to anyone interested in these topics and am excited to see what Tamirat does next.
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