A review by tonythep
Temporary People by Deepak Unnikrishnan

5.0

This amazing debut is called a novel, but it's really a sprawling, wonderful mess of linked stories exploring the world of migrant guest workers in the United Arab Emirates. Foreign nationals make up over 80% of the population there, but have few rights and no hope of citizenship. Deepak Unnikrishnan was raised in this world, and he immerses us in it with playful surrealism and linguistic invention. The author cites Salman Rushdie and George Saunders as influences, and I think it safe to add Kafka to that list.