adelereads_'s review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
loyloy_bluesky's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
short story collection
this hostel life was difficult to read at the start as it's not written in grammatically correct english, but this emphasised the difficulty of needing to learn another language when seeking refuge in a country like ireland. subtle but with very strong characters who had clear individual voices
under the awning was definitely my favourite, very impactful and i loved the writing inside the writing
the egg broke was written beautifully, i felt so immersed in the story and was devastated by the end.
really amazing collection!! the preface and essay at the end also added so much to the reading experience by giving that context
this hostel life was difficult to read at the start as it's not written in grammatically correct english, but this emphasised the difficulty of needing to learn another language when seeking refuge in a country like ireland. subtle but with very strong characters who had clear individual voices
under the awning was definitely my favourite, very impactful and i loved the writing inside the writing
the egg broke was written beautifully, i felt so immersed in the story and was devastated by the end.
really amazing collection!! the preface and essay at the end also added so much to the reading experience by giving that context
hannahmurphy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
nikarice's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Great book. A good collection if stories that give insight into an immigrant's life in Ireland. The intro and end essay give a lot of good context. The perfect length but still has so much emotion and information.
translatedgems's review
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This Hostel Life is a collection on the short side with only three stories, but it packed a punch. Melatu Uche Okorie gives us a glimpse of life in a direct provision hostel while discussing racism and discrimination asylum seekers and black Africans face in Ireland. I would say this is a must-read and urge you to read it.
•
"Back home, rainfall meant other things to you rather than discomfort. It meant that the flat you shared with your mother’s sister and her husband and your three cousins would not be stuffy. It meant that you wouldn’t go to the well to fill the jelly-cans in the flat with water. It meant that there would be corn sellers lined up along your street selling your favourite fresh roast corn the next morning."
•
"It was Aunty Muna who had told you not long after you arrived that the people in the Western world liked Africans the way you enjoyed animals in a zoo; you could visit them, feed them, play with them, but they must not be allowed outside their environment."
•
"They asked you where you learnt to speak English so well and if it were true Africans lived in trees and how they could never live in a hot country because they would melt. You muttered an empty response, desperate not to show your real emotions, but the sadness would still come when you got home and you would cry into your pillow."
•
•
"Back home, rainfall meant other things to you rather than discomfort. It meant that the flat you shared with your mother’s sister and her husband and your three cousins would not be stuffy. It meant that you wouldn’t go to the well to fill the jelly-cans in the flat with water. It meant that there would be corn sellers lined up along your street selling your favourite fresh roast corn the next morning."
•
"It was Aunty Muna who had told you not long after you arrived that the people in the Western world liked Africans the way you enjoyed animals in a zoo; you could visit them, feed them, play with them, but they must not be allowed outside their environment."
•
"They asked you where you learnt to speak English so well and if it were true Africans lived in trees and how they could never live in a hot country because they would melt. You muttered an empty response, desperate not to show your real emotions, but the sadness would still come when you got home and you would cry into your pillow."
•
georgie_mb's review against another edition
5.0
*kindly gifted to me by Little Brown*
Such a powerful selection of short stories, highlighting topics that I didn't know much about before reading this (the direct provision system in Ireland, how everyday racism is waved off as something not that important, and asylum seekers).
The stories always picked us up and left us in a good place, so much so that I wanted to read on and find out what happened to the characters.
I whizzed through this, but it still left quite an impact on me afterwards.
Such a powerful selection of short stories, highlighting topics that I didn't know much about before reading this (the direct provision system in Ireland, how everyday racism is waved off as something not that important, and asylum seekers).
The stories always picked us up and left us in a good place, so much so that I wanted to read on and find out what happened to the characters.
I whizzed through this, but it still left quite an impact on me afterwards.
bgg616's review against another edition
4.0
This slim volume contains an informative introduction, three stories and a final article that provides information on the legal situation of migrants to Ireland. Okorie is a Nigerian migrant to Ireland along with her daughter. Asylum seekers who arrive in Ireland may be categorized as refugees or a person meriting subsidiary protection. Refugees are persons whose fear for safety and their lives is something they face everywhere in their country of origin. There is a distinction made for persons who face persecution in the specific area where they reside in their country of origin. This may be domestic abuse, religious persecution, torture and more that threatens their lives and survival. It is, however, not possible for many to simply move to another part of their country and live safely. Persons who are admitted to Ireland as needing subsidiary protection are placed in a direct provision group. They are not permitted to work. They are required to live in special housing, called hostels.
In some hostels, residents may have cooking facilities, but in most they are served in a cafeteria. In the first story "This Hostel Life", we meet residents of the hostel, the majority of whom are migrants from Nigeria, and other African countries. The story is written in the language these people, mostly women, have created to communicate across their different languages. It is a kind of creole of Nigerian pidgin English, and some American slang. The women gossip about everything in their contained environment. The employees of the hostel exhibit the power they hold over residents, denying them provisions (toilet paper, soap etc.) when a resident complains. Still there are residents who push back, despite the risks. Many face years in these residents, existing in a stateless limbo.
The second story "Under the Awning" focuses on the question of belonging. In 2004 with the Citizenship Referendum, the right of citizenship was withdrawn from children born in Ireland of parents who were not Irish citizens. the title reflects the lengths to which the character in the story goes to blend in. In Nigeria, when it rains, people don't flee the wet. In Ireland, waiting for a bus, the character goes to wait under a shop awning with other waiting passengers, because that is what you do in Ireland. This is a story within a story. A Nigerian woman is called to read aloud her story in a writing class. At the end of her reading, her fellow students' comments reveal their inability to comprehend this simple story. It was particularly interesting to me as a linguist who has studied various types of discourse styles, and how a specific form of storytelling is rewarded in Eurocentric
(including American) traditions, and others are seen as deficient.
The third and final story "The Egg Broke" is set in Nigeria. In this village, despite laws against this practice, twins are seen as not deserving the right to survive. Traditionally they are abandoned in the woods. The young woman in the story has a young daughter, but she and her husband yearn for a son. She gives birth to twin boys.
This is a collection that provides readers insights into the lives of migrants in Ireland. The stories are given context by the Introduction and the final essay. The author Melatu Uche Okorie is currently working on her PhD at Trinity College Dublin. She has a MPhil in Creative writing from Trinity. She moved to Ireland in 2006, and began writing while in direct provision status for eight and a half years. I look forward to reading more from this talented writer and important voice in Irish writing.
In some hostels, residents may have cooking facilities, but in most they are served in a cafeteria. In the first story "This Hostel Life", we meet residents of the hostel, the majority of whom are migrants from Nigeria, and other African countries. The story is written in the language these people, mostly women, have created to communicate across their different languages. It is a kind of creole of Nigerian pidgin English, and some American slang. The women gossip about everything in their contained environment. The employees of the hostel exhibit the power they hold over residents, denying them provisions (toilet paper, soap etc.) when a resident complains. Still there are residents who push back, despite the risks. Many face years in these residents, existing in a stateless limbo.
The second story "Under the Awning" focuses on the question of belonging. In 2004 with the Citizenship Referendum, the right of citizenship was withdrawn from children born in Ireland of parents who were not Irish citizens. the title reflects the lengths to which the character in the story goes to blend in. In Nigeria, when it rains, people don't flee the wet. In Ireland, waiting for a bus, the character goes to wait under a shop awning with other waiting passengers, because that is what you do in Ireland. This is a story within a story. A Nigerian woman is called to read aloud her story in a writing class. At the end of her reading, her fellow students' comments reveal their inability to comprehend this simple story. It was particularly interesting to me as a linguist who has studied various types of discourse styles, and how a specific form of storytelling is rewarded in Eurocentric
(including American) traditions, and others are seen as deficient.
The third and final story "The Egg Broke" is set in Nigeria. In this village, despite laws against this practice, twins are seen as not deserving the right to survive. Traditionally they are abandoned in the woods. The young woman in the story has a young daughter, but she and her husband yearn for a son. She gives birth to twin boys.
This is a collection that provides readers insights into the lives of migrants in Ireland. The stories are given context by the Introduction and the final essay. The author Melatu Uche Okorie is currently working on her PhD at Trinity College Dublin. She has a MPhil in Creative writing from Trinity. She moved to Ireland in 2006, and began writing while in direct provision status for eight and a half years. I look forward to reading more from this talented writer and important voice in Irish writing.
theirishbooklover's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Observant, Original, Complex.
I bought this book without knowing anything about it. This book is made up of two short stories set in Provision in Ireland.
As they are short stories, I don't want to give any spoilers.
It was a 3 star read for me.
I bought this book without knowing anything about it. This book is made up of two short stories set in Provision in Ireland.
As they are short stories, I don't want to give any spoilers.
It was a 3 star read for me.