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A review by rebeccalm
The Illegal by Lawrence Hill
4.0
I stumbled upon this book by accident and the synopsis sounded interesting enough to give it a try - I'm glad I did. I listened to this as an audio-book narrated by Gideon Emery and he was so good!
This was Keita Aii's story of struggle and triumph to flee an oppressive and violent regime and make his way in a new world where he wouldn't have to live in fear. But true to many an immigrant story (not that there is only one 'typical' story) he encounters unexpected hardships with little to no support. This novel follows Keita as he attempts to navigate his own new life circumstances, as well as a hostile political climate in his new country of residence.
The book follows the perspectives of a couple different characters and is told in an easily relatable and human way. This novel is very much a work of fiction that takes place in a non-existent country, and it is told in as lighthearted a way as possible for this type of subject matter. Keita is the ever positive and resilient main character - no matter how bad his circumstances become his drive is never hampered or diminished. Despite it's overly (and some might say, unrealistically) optimistic tone, this story felt eerily relevant to the 'illegal' immigrant conversations that are happening today. I enjoyed it!
This was Keita Aii's story of struggle and triumph to flee an oppressive and violent regime and make his way in a new world where he wouldn't have to live in fear. But true to many an immigrant story (not that there is only one 'typical' story) he encounters unexpected hardships with little to no support. This novel follows Keita as he attempts to navigate his own new life circumstances, as well as a hostile political climate in his new country of residence.
The book follows the perspectives of a couple different characters and is told in an easily relatable and human way. This novel is very much a work of fiction that takes place in a non-existent country, and it is told in as lighthearted a way as possible for this type of subject matter. Keita is the ever positive and resilient main character - no matter how bad his circumstances become his drive is never hampered or diminished. Despite it's overly (and some might say, unrealistically) optimistic tone, this story felt eerily relevant to the 'illegal' immigrant conversations that are happening today. I enjoyed it!