Unigwe was born in Nigeria and now lives in Belgium; her novel was originally published there under the title "Fata Morgana."
The original title is perhaps more descriptive. "Fata Morgana" refers to a special type of mirage — something akin to a fairy castle or other "false land" that lures sailors to their death.
Unigwe's "sailors" are four African prostitutes, working the red light district of Antwerp. The four have different stories, but all are there through the machinations of one businessman in Lagos, Nigeria. Dele supplies brothels throughout western Europe; he charges the women a high fee for this "service," and the women find their debt compounded by the rent they owe "Madame" once they arrive.
Madame gives newcomers a day or two and then sends them to Immigration after some coaching. She assures them that immigration officials love gang rape and seeing one's entire family slaughtered; tears are always appropriate. The outcome of the meeting, though, matters little: No one is deported from Madame's house on Black Sisters Street.
When one of the women is murdered, the others come closer together, and over time we learn the stories of all four. Unigwe is remarkably even-handed in her presentation of these stories. Only one of the women was duped, believing she was coming to Antwerp to be a nanny. The others knew only too well what lay ahead. The alternatives for them were far worse.
This is a heart-wrenching novel, but it is also much more than that. The lilting music of the pidgin English of the transplanted Africans is delightful, and there is much sly humor throughout.
And Unigwe isn't presenting victims. Her story is of strong women who want to live and who are capable of adjusting to changed circumstances in the most profound ways.
Human trafficking is a very uncomfortable subject, one we like to think of as happening only elsewhere. But human trafficking is hand in hand with immigration. Where there is demand, there are always those willing to supply, and it is so very easy to seduce those who hunger with visions of a fairy castle and a false land of plenty.
Another novel I read recently is "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro. I'm not sure how I missed this 2005 best-seller, as Ishiguro is a favorite of mine. Happily, the recent film of this book brought it back to my attention.
Ishiguro fascinates me. His writing is elegant and exquisitely subtle. He has perfect control and his characters ring absolutely true from beginning to end. Despite this, he has such a distinctive voice that I believe I could pick his work out of any random line-up.
The plots of his novels are as different as can be. "Never Let Me Go" is about three friends growing up at a special boarding school in England in the 1990s. They reunite some years later, living out the lives fate (and society) have assigned to them.
Ishiguro takes on some of the "big" questions in this novel; "Brave New World" and "1984" are often mentioned in reviews of "Never Let Me Go."
I'm not going to be a spoiler, but Ishiguro is not one for the drama of "surprise" revelations and over-wrought endings. His position is quietly presented and it is up to us to sound the depths.
What struck me, reading these two novels one after the other, was the similarity they shared.
Both are about the moral ambiguity that lurks in both our deepest desires and our darkest fears.
And both give voice to those who stand ready to serve. It is so easy to accept them — and so hard to go back once we have.
Photo by derekGavey (Creative Commons)
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