A review by duskyliterati
The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu
3.0
Ethiopian immigrant, Sepha Stephanos, who fled his country 17 years ago, is the owner of a barely profitable store in a neighborhood of Washington, DC. The reader is also introduced to his friends, Kenneth from Kenya and Joseph from the Congo. Other main characters, are Judith, a white woman, and her mixed race daughter, Naomi. Judith, who is renovating a 4-story home, represents the first wave of impending gentrification. The book’s title comes from a line in Dante’s Inferno, that Joseph believes to be “the most perfect lines of poetry ever written.”
"Some of the beautiful things that Heaven bears, Where we came forth, and once more saw the stars" — Dante’s Inferno
One of things I liked about this book was it took place in the Logan Circle neighborhood of DC (with a side trip to Silver Spring, MD). I grew up and spent over 30 years in the area. While I found the passages between Naomi and Sepha moving as they bonded through their shared reading of The Brothers Karamazov, I felt that the attraction between Sepha and Naomi’s mother, Judith, to be forced and lacking chemistry. The story came alive for me as we find out the circumstances surrounding Sepha’s life and subsequent flight from Ethiopia. I enjoyed the interaction between Sepha and his friends as they meet in their favorite bar and play their game “name the African coups and dictators.” When the action briefly moves to Silver Spring, Mengestu helps us understand how newly arrived immigrants live.
The book was honored with as the New York Times Notable Book of the Year and the Guardian First Book Award.
"Some of the beautiful things that Heaven bears, Where we came forth, and once more saw the stars" — Dante’s Inferno
One of things I liked about this book was it took place in the Logan Circle neighborhood of DC (with a side trip to Silver Spring, MD). I grew up and spent over 30 years in the area. While I found the passages between Naomi and Sepha moving as they bonded through their shared reading of The Brothers Karamazov, I felt that the attraction between Sepha and Naomi’s mother, Judith, to be forced and lacking chemistry. The story came alive for me as we find out the circumstances surrounding Sepha’s life and subsequent flight from Ethiopia. I enjoyed the interaction between Sepha and his friends as they meet in their favorite bar and play their game “name the African coups and dictators.” When the action briefly moves to Silver Spring, Mengestu helps us understand how newly arrived immigrants live.
The book was honored with as the New York Times Notable Book of the Year and the Guardian First Book Award.