►
Description
As part of the annual Arlington Reads celebration sponsored by the Arlington (VA) Public Library, author Dinaw Mengestu discussed and read from his novel, "The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears". Mengestu was interviewed by Arlington Public Library Director Diane Kresh and took questions from the audience.
A
A
We
do
it
each
year
because
of
all
of
you.
We
have
a
great
time.
Every
year
we
always
have
a
terrific
lineup
of
authors
and
the
whole
thing
wouldn't
be
possible
without
the
Friends
of
the
library.
So,
let's,
let's
also
give
it
up
for
the
friends
and
then
later
this
month,
we'll
have
the
first
of
our
two
annual
book
sales
and
it's
the
longest
recycling
program
in
Arlington.
So
we
hope
to
see
you
there.
We
always
have
a
lot
of
fun
at
that
as
well.
A
So
again,
thank
you
to
the
friends
so
tonight
we're
delighted
to
have
Donella
and
guests
you
with
us
to
talk
about
his
absolutely
fabulous
book,
the
beautiful
things
that
heaven
bears.
We
want
to
do
something
a
little
bit
differently
tonight.
I
will
pose
some
questions
to
do
now,
but
then
I
want
to
pause
and
invite
questions
or
comments
from
from
you
all
so
that
we
can
make
this
more
of
a
conversation.
So
the
first
part
I'll
do
a
little
background.
A
You
know
roots
that
kind
of
thing
and
then
we'll
invite
you
to
participate
in
that
and
then
we'll
talk
a
little
bit
about
the
book
and
then
at
some
point,
Danao
will
actually
read
from
the
book
which
will
be
wonderful
and
then
at
the
end,
we'll
kind
of
talk
about
what's
next
in
his
life
and
what
he's
doing
and
that
sort
of
thing.
So
that's
that's
roughly
the
format
we
do
have
interpretation
here
this
evening.
A
It
will
be,
it
is
being
taped
by
avian,
so
you'll
be
able
to
watch
it
later
again
and
again
and
again
and
that'll
be
a
nice,
a
nice
reminder.
So
the
other
piece
that
we
thought
we
would
do
a
little
differently.
If
you
don't
have
a
chance
to
share
a
personal
story
this
evening,
but
would
like
to
we
roll
will
open
up
that
possibility
on
our
website,
so
that
people
can
keep
the
conversation
going
after
this
evening
about
what
you
heard
or
your
experience
of
the
immigrant
experience.
A
Whether
it's
been
your
story
or
the
story
of
someone
you're
close
to.
We
want
to
continue
the
conversation
and
share
and
learn
from
one
another.
So
that'll
be
something
to
look
forward
to
on
our
on
our
website.
Okay,
so
let's,
let's
start
then
hello
know
we
had
a
chance
to
get
acquainted
a
little
a
little
bit
earlier,
a
couple
of
biographical
things.
A
Mr.
menges
ii
was
born
in
Addis
Ababa
Ethiopia
in
1978
and
came
to
the
u.s.
at
the
age
of
two
and
we'll
talk
a
little
bit
more
about
that.
In
a
few
minutes,
he
attended
Georgetown
as
an
undergrad
and
received
an
MFA
in
fiction
from
Columbia.
He
also
received
a
fellowship
from
the
New
York
foundation
for
the
Arts
was
named
a
5
under
35
Award
winner
by
the
National
Book
Award
foundation
and
last
year,
probably
most
excitingly
and
maybe
terrorising
at
the
same.
B
A
He's
received
a
genius
grant
from
the
MacArthur
Foundation
and
will
hopefully
have
a
chance
to
talk
a
little
bit
about
about
that.
He
is
the
author
of
three
books,
we're
talking
about
his
first
one
this
evening
and
if
we
have
time
we
would
like
to
get
into
the
the
second
two
because
as
I
as
I've
begun
reading
them,
they
they
are
related,
although
not
necessarily
as
a
sequel.
A
So
without
anything
further
we'll
talk
about
the
book
and
so
much
of
what
I
found
in
the
novel
was
on
the
on
the
theme
of
fitting
in-
and
you
came
here
when
you
were
two
from
Ethiopia
and
grew
up
in
Peoria
and
then
later
in
Chicago.
So
can
you
talk
a
little
bit
about
what
it
was
like
to
assimilate
into
the
American
Way
of
life?
And
did
you
ever
think
of
yourself
as
different
and
and
if
you
didn't,
did
there
come
a
time
when
you
did
and
you
wanted
to
explore
that
further.
C
Good
evening,
thank
you
all
very
much
for
coming
here
why,
before
I
launch
into
a
very
complex
answer
about
my
about
my
two
years
in
life,
my
first
years
of
life,
about
what
to
say
thank
you
very
much
to
to
the
Arlington
Public
Library
for
bringing
me
here
for
all
of
the
support
you've
provided
for
assisting
sponsoring
this
event.
With
these
DC,
it's
been
a
great
great
pleasure,
working
with
you
guys
and
friends
and
family
who
are
also.
B
C
Oh
I'm,
sorry
I
have
to
speak
up
and
two
friends,
three
one
family
who
are
also
here
pleasure
to
see
you
again.
As
for
this
question
of
whether
or
not
you
know
so,
the
topic
of
the
conversation
is
I
guess
my
both
my
talking
to
you
know,
Jesus
talk
is
is
is
under
the
rubric
of
the
immigrant
experience
and
without
a
doubt,
I
definitely
am
an
immigrants.
C
At
the
same
time,
you
know
I
came
to
America
when
I
was
two
years
old
and
when
you
come
to
America
as
a
two-year-old,
you
don't
really
have
any
souvenirs
and
memories
of
the
place
that
you've
left.
You
grew
up
feeling
completely
American
and
you
know
at
the
same
time,
you
grew
up
feeling
completely
American,
with
with
a
very
profound
understanding
that
there's
in
history
and
an
antecedent
that
preceded
you
that
there's
this
cultural
legacy
that
has
some
that
is
somehow
essential
to
who
you
are,
even
though
you
don't
quite
have
access
to
it.
C
C
The
most
growing
up
is
is
wondering
exactly
which
side
of
the
line
I
was
supposed
to
be
on
and
in
which
circumstances
and
as
I
grew
older
I.
Think
there
is
this
sort
of
constant
oscillation
that
jump-roping
became
more
and
more
intense,
where
the
less
connected
I
felt
to
America
the
more
I
decided
that
I
needed
to
be
co.
Peon,
the
more
prejudiced
I
experienced
in
America,
the
more
I
decided
I
needed
to
be
filled
in
as
a
way
of
as
a
way
of
resolving
that
prejudice.
C
C
C
C
That
I
was
not
only
male,
but
I
was
a
black
male
in
America
and
especially
in
the
Midwest.
You
realized
there's
a
lot
of
there's
a
lot
of
frustration
that
comes
with
that
that
I
experienced,
and
so
that
that
made
me
not
want
to
be
American
because
somehow
I
associated
the
complexities
and
challenges
that
came
with
that.
With
being
purely
a
product
of
American
to
some
degree,
that's
true,
that
is,
and
by
claiming
to
be
champion
that
releases
you
from
that
burden,
suddenly
you're
no
longer
able
to
be.
C
You
believe
that
no
long,
no
one
can
insult
you
anymore,
that
somehow
you've
created
this
privileged
space
that
you
get
to
exist
in
your
fantasies
in
your
dreams,
where
you
are
only
Theo,
peon
and
I,
think
I
think
it
took.
It
took
a
long
time
to
to
sort
of
resolve
that
issue
and
and
again,
I.
Think
now,
I,
don't
now
I,
don't
see
those
problems
right!
C
A
When
you
were
about
in
your
later
20s,
you
actually
went
home
to
Ethiopia
and
to
your
grandmother's
house,
which
had
prior
only
been
represented
in
a
photo
that
your
family
had
so
talk
a
little
bit
about
what
that
experience
was
like
what
motivated
you
to
go
back
to
begin
with
and
what
you
experienced
when
you
got
there.
I.
C
Always
had
you
know,
I
think,
like
most
immigrants,
even
though
I
left
a
few
peers,
I
said
as
a
child,
they
didn't
have
any
particular
memories
of
it,
but
you
there
is
a
way
in
which
I
think
nostalgia
is
inherited.
Your
parents
can
actually
pass
on
many
different
traits.
They
can
give
you
the
color
of
your
eyes,
the
texture
of
your
hair,
and
they
can
also
give
you
the
things
that
they've
lost
and
the
things
that
they
miss
and
the
things
that
they
love
and
definitely
I.
C
So
I
used
to
have
these
very
profound
fantasies
of
what
it
would
be
like
when
I
first
went
to
Ethiopia
that
I
have
you
know,
walk
off
the
plane
and
I
step
on
the
tarmac
and
I
dropped
to
my
knees,
and
people
would
like
magically
show
up
and
start
weeping
with
me.
My
father
used
to
have
this
postcard
of
a
lion
on.
C
So
I'd
written
a
novel
that
imagined
a
lot
of
things
in
Ethiopia
that
I'd
never
actually
witnessed
myself
I'm.
Actually
imagining
ideas
have
about
without
ever
having
seen
it
I'm
imagining
the
death
of
family
members
that
I
never
actually
knew,
and
just
as
soon
as
I
novel
was
completed,
I
had
the
opportunity
to
finally
go
to
me.
Theo
Pia
and
you
know
who's
as
profound
and
more
profound
and
more
more,
more
remarkable
of
an
experience
than
I'd
ever
imagined
before
and.
D
C
At
the
same
time,
there's
you
know
you
can't
just
sort
of
praise
all
the
great
beauty.
There
is
also
this
other
side
of
it,
which
is
that
hopscotch
game
again.
So
as
soon
as
I
got
to
be
Theo
Pia,
everyone
would
look
at
me
and
my
hair
wasn't
quite
so
long
back
then,
and
everyone
thought
I
was
Ethiopian
eyed.
Until
the
moment
I
opened
I
spoke
and
as
soon
as
I
spoke
then
everyone's
like
now.
C
We
know
who's
right,
you're,
an
American
really
to
sort
of
disguise
any
disguise
as
an
Ethiopian,
and
so
you
were
always
quite
aware
of
the
fact
that
you
know
you
were.
You
were
both
inside
and
yet
at
the
same
time
outside
of
this
culture
that
you
that
you
felt
profoundly
and
emotionally
attached
to
and
yet
at
the
same
time
you
also
have
to
respect
the
distance
that
comes
with
with
migration.
C
C
It's
creating
fiction
out
of
that
and
it's
not
necessarily
pejorative
or
negative
thing,
but
there
is
an
absence
that
can't
ever
really
be
fulfilled,
and
so
you
have
to
kind
of
accept
that
and
at
the
same
time
find
ways
of
engaging
that
absence
as
honestly
and
truthfully
as
you
can
so
I
was.
You
know
back
in
Ethiopian,
my
the
same
house
that
I
lived
in
as
a
child
and
and
sure
enough
inside
of
this
house.
C
There
were
all
of
these
remarkable
relics
that
it
all
stayed
exactly
the
same
way
that
they
had
been
when
we
left
at
that
point
25
years
earlier,
so
the
walls
were
still
there's
still
little
stickers
on
the
walls
in
the
bedroom.
From
when
my
sister
and
I
were
children,
there
was
a
painting
on
the
wall
that
my
father
had
bought
when
he
was
in
Italy
or
in
Saudi
Arabia
before
he
became
an
immigrant
I.
Think
my
mother's
in
the
back.
C
So
she
will
know
all
my
mom's
shoes
they
did
that
were
still
inside
of
the
house,
and
so
you
had
a
sense
that
somehow,
even
though
you
had
left
this
place
was
still
waiting
for
you
that,
even
though
25
years
later
the
house
had
kind
of
it
hadn't
frozen
itself,
life
had
gone
on,
and
yet,
at
the
same
time,
there
I
found
something
incredibly
touching
about
the
fact
that
this
space
kind
of
was
holding
its
breath
for
us
to
return.
There's.
A
A
nice
part
in
the
book,
where
you're
describing
the
narrator's
uncle's
apartment,
building
a
twenty
eight
story,
building
26
floors
of
which
are
filled
with
Ethiopians
intersecting
lives.
Gossiping,
you
know
talking
about
one
another.
Were
it
not
for
a
fact
of
geography?
You
would
think
you
were
in
Ethiopia
and
it
was
something
that
the
narrator
can't
wait
to
get
away
from
and
the
uncle
can't
leave.
Can
you
talk
a.
C
C
You
know,
III
will
say
that
you
know
what
my
earliest
memories
as
a
child
was
coming
to
DC
and
and
whether
or
not
this
memory
you
know,
memory
gets
skewed
with
time
and
with
history
is
that
we
were.
You
know
with
my
father
coming
up:
18th
Street
and
every
20
minutes
as
we
were
walking
up,
18th
Street
he'd
run
into
another
old
high
school
friend
and
I
kept
being
like.
C
How
is
this
possible
right,
like
this,
doesn't
make
sense,
I've,
never
seen
any
other
Ethiopians
growing
up
and
something
we
get
to
18th
Street
and
there's
one
like
that
graduated.
That
was
my
uncle
cousins
brothers.
Everyone
was
a
best
friend
every
five
feet
and
and
obviously
because
those
experience
get
magnified
in
in
an
immigrant
context
right.
C
So
it's
not
that
obviously,
all
Ethiopians
have
suddenly
moved
to
the
Washington
DC
area,
but
that
you
know
within
the
amount
of
people
that
are
able
to
actually
become
a
part
of
the
Diaspora,
is
already
pretty
small
inside
of
a
country.
Even
the
country
is
populous
as
Ethiopia,
and
so
within
that,
then
you
start
sort
of
huddling
those
people
into
certain
large
pockets
across
America.
Then
inevitably
you're
going
to
find
connections
and
you're
going
to
find
a
way
of
finding.
You
know
pieces
of
your
life
all
over
the
city.
C
C
Whether
or
not
there
was
really
such
a
space
that
existed
in
American,
literature
to
write,
characters
like
that
and
and
being
in
DC
I
think
was
definitely
a
part
of
a
grant
to
do
that.
Privilege
right.
You
had
a
sense
that
actually
this
was
not
a
community
that
kind
of
existed
on
the
margins
or
that
existed
purely
in
the
abstract,
but
that
was
actually
sort
of
central
to
what
the
city
has
become
and
is,
and
so
knowing
that
that
actually
allows
you
and
gives
you
a
sense
that
well
there's
something
vital
to
this.
C
This
community
and
there's
a
sort
of
narrative
that
is,
but
the
part
of
this
community
much
greater
than
that.
That's
also
very
much
reflective
of
what
an
American
experience
is,
and
you
can
use
that
community,
then
to
sort
of
get
at
both
the
history
of
Ethiopia
and
also
I
think
the
kind
of
process
of
immigration
that
that's,
okay,.
C
We
left
I
mean
we
left
my
father
left
just
before.
I
was
born
following
the
revolution
in
Ethiopia
in
1974,
and
then
in
that
sort
of
tumultuous
period
known
as
the
red,
the
red
Tarun
Ethiopia.
We
lost
family
members
who
either
ended
up
in
prison
or
were
dead,
and
so
my
father
left
during
that
time
and
why
we
ended
up
computer
I
think
there
was
really
just
a
question
of
where
you
ended
up
being
resettled
in
the
long
run.
C
C
C
The
easiest
questions
right,
like
you
know,
give
us
words
of
wisdom.
I
mean
you
know,
I
I
would
probably
say
I
understand
that
I
understand
the
necessity
of
the
way
we
make
these
distinctions
between
between
immigrants
and
non
immigrant
right,
but
at
the
same
time
it
does
seem
to
create
a
strange,
strange
dialectic
and
especially
in
an
American
context
right
there.
B
C
The
sort
of
totality
of
that
word
immigrant
kind
of
makes
these
things
makes
these
history
seem
like
they
belong
and
they
sort
of
bundled
packages
right.
Like
here's,
the
immigrant
narrative
on
this
side,
here's
the
sort
of
American
narrative
on
this
side.
Here's
the
Chinese,
Amin
and
I
find
that
problematic.
F
Okay,
salaam
and
clendenon
would
good
evening.
My
name
is
antenna.
Our
commonalities,
I
was
born
in
at
this.
The
differences
I
came
in
when
I
was
16
and
newer,
and
my
question
is
for
those
of
us
who
are
here
as
an
immigrant
and
trying
to
make
it
congratulations
again
with
your
success.
There
is
different
trials
and
failures,
so
you've
mentioned
you've
tried
and
you
have
felt
and
some
of
writings
and
what
you
advise
for
those
of
us
who
are
here
trying
to
make
it
here
in
the
dream
world
country.
C
C
Nonetheless,
it's
impossible
to
separate
America
from
Who
I
am
it's
it's
so
innately
a
part
of
my
cultural
history,
my
intellectual
history,
that
I
can't
ever
make
any
distinctions
between
my
American
identity
and
my
Ethiopian
identity,
whereas
the
same
time,
if
you
come
here
from
at
a
much
later
age,
especially
you
are
kind,
you
are
confronted
with
with
a
larger
set
of
problems.
You
know,
you're
confronted
with
questions
of
language.
Questions
of
history.
C
So
we
talk
about
the
immigrant
narrative
in
a
way
that
I
think
is
we're
also
using
that
term,
because
what
we're
also
doing
is
we're
magnifying
the
kind
of
complexities
of
creating
home
and
the
complexities
of
creating
new
lives
and
challenges.
The
immigrating
experiences
that
I
think
to
a
heightened
degree
that
to
that
to
the
tenth
power
I,
don't
know
anybody
who
has
it
I
think
this
sort
of
the
series
of
frustrations
and
failures,
I
think
those
are
kind
of
endemic
to
all
of
us
right
then
I
think
and
the
immigrant
communities
and
immigrant
populations.
C
I
do
think
that
failure
inflicts
all
of
us,
so
I
I
don't
have
I,
there's
an
open
but
there's
a
way
of
making
any
magic
words
to
get
out
of
that
problem
right.
That
is
sort
of
what
happens.
You
know
we
tried
we
failed.
Sometimes,
if
we're
lucky,
we
can
kind
of
overcome
those
failures,
but
inevitably
we
all
are
sort
of
asked
to
come
to
step
back
up
to
the
plate.
You
know
you
can't
you
can't
not
do
that.
A
H
Hi,
my
name
is
Christina
and
I
have
an
interpreter
with
me,
and
I
have
I'm
a
student
from
Gallaudet,
University
and
I'm
in
sorry,
a
community
class
and
I
have
my
interpreter
has
a
question
that
I
wrote
for
you.
You
write
exquisite
details
about
Logan
Circle
in
Georgetown
and
the
Suffa
the
main
characters.
Neighborhood.
Do
you
think
if
you
didn't
describe
the
setting
in
such
a
detailed
manner,
the
story
would
have
been
different.
C
D
C
Also,
very
much
reflective
of
his
personality
and
his
identity
he's
not
somebody.
Who's
was
very
interested
in
and
kind
of
making
it
in
this
world
he's
not
very
interested
in
succeeding,
he's
not
very
interested
in
striving
to
make
a
big
career.
What
he
is
really
interested
in
is
watching
and
looking
at
the
world
and
I.
C
Think
that's
one
of
the
reasons
why
I
like
him
so
much
as
a
narrator,
because
he
gave
me
a
chance
to
really
look
closely
at
DC
to
look
closely
at
this
landscape
and
to
see
how
that
landscape
filtered
through
his
eyes
is
slightly
different
from
the
landscape
that
we
normally
see
or
it's.
Oh,
so,
both
the
landscape
that
we
always
see,
but
we
don't
notice
it
to
the
same
degree
and
suddenly
here's
a
character
who,
because
of
his
loss
because
of
his
emotional
states,
spends
more
time
noticing
the
world
around
him.
B
C
Us
can
possibly
do
in
our
day-to-day
lives,
but
I
think
part
of
why
we
why
we
enjoy
fiction
so
much
why
we
enjoy
literature.
So
much
is
that
it
slows
down
time.
It
reminds
us
of
how
we
can
actually
see
the
world
in
this
heightened
way.
That
brings
it
back
to
life.
To
us,
it
shows
sort
of
inherent
mystery
and
then
hair
beauty,
sometimes
in
the
physical
world
around
us.
I
This
partly
because
your
mom
is
here
and
only
I'm,
only
interested
in
the
lighter
side
of
stories
I
want
to
know
the
American
experiences
you
took
home
growing
up
as
you
become
American
that
the
family
finds
funny
for
whatever
reason
and
repeats
every
now
and
then
I
can
just
give
you
a
quick
story.
A
lot
of
boy
went
to
his
mom
one
day,
kind
of
furious
angry.
Why
mom?
You
know
his
mom
was
inconsiderate
enough
to
make
him
the
only
person
in
the
school
with
yellow
rice.
I
C
C
At
the
same
time,
I
will
say
whatever.
Since
you
asked
the
question,
it's
not
so
much
a
story,
but
one
of
those
anecdotes
Eric
sometimes
shows
the
divide
in
perspective
right,
so
growing
up
in
my
father
could
be
quite
sometimes
a
formal
man
and
and
believed
in
wanting
to
pass
on
a
certain
level
of
cultural
formality.
You
know
Ethiopians
I
think
tend
to
tend
to
sort
of
be
quite
formal
in
our
gestures
and
in
our
movements,
oftentimes
and
I.
Remember,
I,
think
I
was
starting
third
grade
and
we
were,
we
were
going
to.
C
You
know,
target
her
to
the
grocery.
There
was
no
target
whatever
was
Kmart's
to
buy,
to
buy
our
school
supplies
and
I
had
like
a
spider-man
backpack
or
something
that
I
really
wanted,
and
my
father
looked
at
and
he's
like
no
no
way
and
I
was
like
what
do
you
mean
no
way
he's
like
I'm
gonna
get
you
I'm
gonna,
get
you
a
better
backpack
and
he
goes
down.
Another
Island
comes
back
with
a
briefcase.
A
C
C
But
but
we
know
so
we
did
we
got,
we
got
the
briefcase
I
didn't
get
my
my
spider-man
backpack
and
we
we
didn't
have
to
go
home
and,
like
I
kind
of
fight
about
I,
think
my
mom
might
have
been
this
sort
of
final
final
resolution
who
got
us
eventually
to
have
a
regular
bookbags,
but
for
my
father
was
sort
of
like
the
end
of
the
world
that
we
didn't
understand
how
important
it
was
they
like,
walk
outside.
Looking
your
very
best,
whether
or
not
you
were
eight
years
old,
it
really
changed
the
equation.
C
A
C
The
initial
title
of
the
book
was
actually
children
of
the
revolution,
and-
and
it's
still
that
title
in
translation
sets
had
on
the
UK
to
the
children
of
the
revolution
in
and
most
of
most
of
the
languages
that
it's
been
translated
into.
Actually
because
the
beautiful
things
that
have
embarrassed
doesn't
always
translate
well
into
German
is
what
I
think
I've
realized,
definitely
not
into
like
Scandinavian
languages.
It's
really
awful.
B
C
C
J
A
Right
we
were
going
to
talk
about
then
there's
a
second
novel
and
then
the
third
one
that's
going
to
be
published.
So
we'll
talk,
we'll
kind
of
tie
that
up
at
the
end,
going
back
to
the
book.
For
this
evening,
one
of
my
favorite
parts
of
the
book
was
the
relationship
or
non
relationship
with
with
Naomi
and
Judith,
and
it
struck
me
that
there
are
some
parallels
in
both
of
the
stories,
because
both
the
narrator
and
Judith
and
Naomi
are
in
a
sense.
You
know
here,
but
not
here.
A
Judith
is
coming
to
the
neighborhood
clearly
trying
to
make
a
statement
about
coming
to
a
neighborhood
that
probably
wouldn't
be
her
own,
and
they
strike
up
this
very
unlikely,
somewhat
tentative
relationship
and
that
one
thinks
when
you're
reading.
Oh
this
can't
possibly
be,
and
yet
you
know,
I
found
myself
kind
of
rooting
for
them
talk
a
little
bit
about
how
that
how
that
came
to
be.
C
I
guess
so
there
there's
one
love
story:
the
novel's
between
the
narrator
Naomi
right.
That's
there
that's
the
sort
of
real,
not
obviously
romantic
one,
but
that's
the
sort
of
real
love
story
that
happened
to
the
novel
to
this
little
girl
who
brings
into
life
who
kind
of
animates
his
is
existent
and
makes
it
and
brings
him
into
being
because
finally,
he
has
something
to
generally
sort
of
care
about
and
and
the
his
relationship
with
her
mother
has
the
potential
to
also
possibly
be
that
and
I
know
in
in.
In
really
perfect
world
is
great.
C
Everyone
finds
their
the
love
that
they
have
and
nothing
they're
ever
they're
able
to
overcome
all
boundaries
barriers,
but
I'm,
not
I'm,
not
really
interested
in
in
trying
to
describe
that.
I
think
what
was
more
interesting
to
me
was
finding
two
characters
who
who,
despite
their
seemingly
different
histories,
actually
converge
in
very
unique
ways.
C
You
know,
and
that's
part
of
what
we
oftentimes
think
of
as
as
a
sort
of
African
narrative
or
the
immigrant
narrative
is
that
we
think
of
it
in
into
certain
Vienna,
certain
opposition
to
the
sort
of
general
narrative
or
as
as
an
aside
and
really
there's
so
much
convergence.
That
happens
in
this
sort
of
experience
right,
so
Judith
herself
kind
of
operates
as
a
migrant
in
the
novel
she's.
Somebody
who
is
who
he
is
American
fully
and
completely.
You
know
at
the
same
time,
is
desperately
looking
for.
C
C
Of
course,
the
African
characters
in
the
novel,
but
nonetheless
that
process
of
of
having
to
rebuild
home
doesn't
doesn't
end
or
begin
with
the
immigrant
experience,
that's
something
that
I
think
gets
translated
into
all
of
our
lives.
Each
of
us
are
kind
of
forced
to
go
through
those
emotions.
At
the
same
time
you
know,
Judith
is
the
divisions
between
her
and
safe
I
think
it
was
important
to
note
that
those
divisions
are
important,
they're,
not
just
resolved
by
by
easy
gestures
or
by
good
intentions.
There's
divisions
of.
C
B
C
So
we
were
we're,
never
really
having
the
kind
of
complete
dialogue
that
we
should
be
having
sometimes
and
Judith
and
and
safer
have
these
moments
where
they
they
could
possibly
actually
be
able
to
create
something
together,
and
yet
there
are
all
these
little
fault
lines
that
interrupt
them,
because
they
don't
have
a
language
in
order
to
actually
say:
what's
what's
lying
at
the
core
of
there,
both
of
their
rooms,
they
don't
actually
have
an
ability
to
express
that,
and
so,
rather
than
being
able
to
communicate,
they've
just
failed.
It
fall
apart
right.
A
It
seems
you're
also
making
some
statements
about
progress,
gentrification,
the
the
displacement
that
comes
from
economic
progress,
that
wrecks
neighborhoods
or
changes
neighborhoods,
and
whereas
we
want
to
preserve
some
some
diversity
in
the
in
the
sake
of
progress
and
moving
forward
those
those
things
are
also
present,
and
that
is
a
sense.
Another
kind
of
migration.
C
You
know
when
I
was
when
I
was
living
in
DC,
especially
when
I
was
writing
that
book
and
many
of
you
maybe
remember
Logan
Circle
in
the
city
from
that
from
there
from
the
90s,
but
the
radical
transformation
was
just
sort
of
stunning
to
me.
You
know
he's
like
how
did
this
happen
overnight?
There
was
this
and
it's
beautiful,
this
great
big,
beautiful
mansion
right
on
the
circle,
this
white,
one
that
we
used
to
call
the
scooby-doo
house,
because
it
was
been
completely
dilapidated
for
so
many
years,
and
it
looked
exactly
like
that.
C
Man,
like
I,
mean
no
one
lived
there,
it's
completely
blacked
out
and
then
now
it's
this
great
stunning
townhouse
and
it
was
able
to
transform
so
rapidly
and
you
think
well,
there
has
to
be
something
problematic
about
that
right.
It's
not
just
to
use
the
label
gentrification.
Yes,
that's
the
sort
of
term
you
used,
but
that
only
gets
a
part
of
the
problem.
You
know
you
want
these
communities
to
be
to
be
better.
You
want
these
houses
to
be
restored.
C
You
want
communities
to
be
able
to
be
to
thrive
and,
at
the
same
time,
that
they
can
only
seem
to
thrive
when
it
when
it
involves
a
displacement
of
others,
and
that
becomes
the
more
problematic
issue.
It's
like.
How
do
you
actually
kind
of
create
a
sustainable
movement
of
empowerment
of
Community
Development?
That's
not
predicated
on
the
loss
of
somebody
else's.
That's
not
predicated
on
the
removal
of
someone
else
right.
The.
A
Other
part
that
again
this
is
the
uncle
I
found
myself
drawn
to
him
several
times
where
cephus
safest
goes
back
to
the
apartment
and
to
his
favorite
place
in
the
closet,
digs
out
the
box
of
correspondence
that
is
going
back
for
I
guess
some
couple
of
decades.
Maybe
all
of
the
correspondence
typed
neatly
addressed
to
cabinet
officials
and
presidents
and
how
he
was
I,
don't
know,
I
I
couldn't
read
them
as
anything,
but
in
treaties
you
know
someone
pay
attention,
someone
noticed
what's
going
on
in
this
country.
Our
country
and
Ethiopia
have
wonderful
relationship.
A
C
Mean
that
came
so
naturally
I
think
it's
I
think
that
seems
to
be
quite
a
common
experience
that
I've
known
across
all
of
my
great
lines,
I
mean
not
only
for
me
here,
but
really
from
general.
Almost
anyone
you
do
part
of
what
happens
when
you
come
here.
Is
you
feel,
like
you,
have
a
government
that
they
can?
You
can
perhaps
actually
engage,
indirectly
and
and
there's
a
great
comfort
in
feeling
that
as
well
that
you
have,
you
can
actually
pick
up
the
phone.
C
Divide
that
exists
between
that
faction
and
the
reality
of
actually
changing
anything
systemic
inside
of
your
country,
and
that
sometimes
you
are,
you
feel,
like
you
have
made
this
grape,
that
you
can
talk
to
somebody
here
at
the
same
time.
Who
are
you
actually
talking
to
at
the
end
of
the
day,
there's
a
kind
of
silence
at
the
end
of
the
phone
line,
and
that
silence
is,
is
you
know
it's
deeply
sort
of
haunting
for
for
the
uncle
and
it
also
echoes
them
hostage
and
in
Saul.
Bellow's
is
mr.
Herzog,
where
mr.
C
Saul
bells
as
characters
walking
around
is
walking
around
New,
York,
City
and
writing
letters
because
he's
partly
losing
his
mind
and
he's
writing
letters
through
historical
figures,
political
figures
and
he's
doing
it
because
he's
trying
to
he's
trying
to
find
some
form
of
engagement
right.
So
if
you
have
loss-
and
you
don't
know
what
to
do-
you
don't
know
who
to
address
your
problems
to
you're
the
country's
falling
apart,
you
know
you
address
it
to
the
highest
person
in
the
land.
C
C
Since
we
talked
briefly
about
the
title,
I
thought
I
would
read
a
brief
passage
that
makes
a
little
tour
of
Washington
DC
and
and
gives
you
a
hint
of
where
the
or
tells
you
exactly
where
the
original
title
came
from,
and
why
it's
not
that
title,
perhaps
anymore,
at
6
p.m.
the
temperature
is
still
hovering
near
80,
a
definite
sign
of
an
impending
hot
and
brutal
summer.
The
few
people
who
pass
through
the
store
at
this
time
of
day
come
in
with
their
faces
red
and
shiny
with
sweat.
C
They
stock
up
on
bottled
water
before
returning
to
their
early
evening,
strolls
and
centrally
air-conditioned
homes.
I
make
a
mental
note
to
myself.
If
possible,
buy
more
water,
I
watch
an
old
beat-up
Chevy
drive
around
the
circle
three
times.
Looking
for
something
or
someone
that
is
no
longer
there.
The
Sun
makes
the
leftover
rain
on
the
roof
Sparkle
as
it
winds
around
the
block.
There
is
a
slow,
lumbering
quality
to
the
day.
I
keep
the
air
conditioner
off,
and
the
door
open.
C
Josephine
Kenneth
come
to
the
store
together.
This
time
they
arrive
almost
an
hour
earlier
than
usual
Kenneth,
still
dressed
in
a
suit
and
joseph´s
wearing
jeans,
with
the
University
of
Michigan
sweatshirt.
That's
far
too
heavy
for
the
warm
Maine
nights.
Joseph's
kisses
me
once
on
the
cheek,
but
the
store
still
opened.
Kenneth
has
nothing
to
say
so.
He
shakes
my
hand
while
trying
out
his
new
English
accent
how
you
doing
old,
chap
life.
Treating
you
well
these
days.
C
The
two
of
them
stand
on
opposite
sides
of
the
counter,
leaning
against
the
glass
panes,
while
flipping
through
the
day's
newspapers.
By
most
accounts
it
has
been
a
decent
day
for
the
world.
The
inflation
is
low.
Countries
all
across
the
globe
are
negotiating
deals
hammering
out
truces,
while
their
leaders
shake
hands
on
the
cover
of
the
Washington
Post
under
headlines
of
restored,
hope
and
promises
of
cooperation.
Even
Africa
has
done
well
for
itself.
C
C
We
drive
past
my
house
and
what's
left
of
Judith's
without
pausing
at
the
stop
sign
on
the
corner.
The
idea
is
to
leave
this
neighbourhood
in
store
as
quickly
as
possible
to
rush
headlong
into
the
Sun,
which
is
just
now
setting
the
entire
flat
skyline
of
the
city
is
tinged
with
a
pinkish
hue.
That
hardly
seems
real.
We
roll
our
windows
down
in
the
backseat.
Joseph
puts
his
feet
up
and
close
his
eyes
as
the
wind
rips
over
his
face.
C
We
all
breathe
in
deeply
Kenneth
cuts
down
one
narrow
side
street
after
another
to
avoid
traffic.
The
tree
these
flowers
and
bushes
are
all
in
bloom.
There's
something
unsettling
about
spring
in
DC
the
cautionary
tale
of
overindulgence
and
inflated
expectations
that
seems
embedded
in
the
grass
and
in
the
trees.
I
thought
I
had
long
since
learned
to
keep
those
expectations
in
check,
but
it
happens
anyway.
Doesn't
it
we
forget
who
we
are
and
where
we
came
from
and
in
doing
so
believed
we
are
entitled
to
much
more
than
we
deserve
in
just
a
few
minutes.
C
We
pull
up
in
front
of
the
Royal
Castle,
which
from
outside
still
looks
like
the
Chinese
restaurant.
It
had
once
been
the
red
awning
and
generic
Asian
typeface
cast
against
the
gold
background,
stayed
even
after
the
menu
had
been
reduced
to
buffalo
wings,
french
fries
and
hamburgers,
and
the
large
circular
boost
with
the
lazy
susans
were
replaced
with
stages,
poles
and
row
of
chairs
that
remind
me
of
a
high
school
auditorium.
C
The
drinks
are
$10
and
each
one
lasts
for
exactly
three
songs,
which
is
equal
to
three
dancers,
which
means
we're
spending
about
a
dollar
a
minute
and
that
in
sixty
eight
minutes,
I
will
have
spent
all
the
money.
I
earned
that
day.
I
take
my
last
dollar
out
of
my
pocket
and
lay
down
on
the
table
once
that's
done
so
am
I
I
say
Joseph
slides
the
bill
back
to
me.
Keep
it.
He
says.
C
The
rest
of
the
evening
is
on
me:
there's
nothing
left
of
downtown
DC,
but
every
time
we
walk
outside
the
Cynthia
is
Eddie.
The
city
has
emptied
itself
of
its
bureaucrats.
Politicians,
lawyers,
secretaries,
diplomats,
lobbyists
and
bankers.
The
shutters
are
all
pulled
down
in
front
of
all
the
storefronts
or
graffiti
has
been
scrawled
all
over
them,
Bay,
so
East,
Capitol
crew,
the
only
people
we
pass
on
the
street
are
all
well-dressed
and
well-heeled
on
their
way
home
to
the
suburbs
of
Virginia
or
to
one
of
the
handful
of
those
luxurious
restaurants.
C
That
stand
is
clearly
isolated
from
one
another
as
a
pair
of
trees.
In
an
open
plain,
the
Capitals
white
dome
seems
to
hover
in
front
of
us
and
if
I
turned
just
a
little
to
the
right,
I
could
see
the
red
eyes
sitting
at
the
peak
of
the
Washington
Monument.
There's
no
mystery
left
in
any
of
those
buildings
for
us
and
at
times,
I
wonder
how
there
ever
could
have
been.
C
We
decided
to
end
our
evening
at
a
small
dark,
crowded
bar
on
the
northwest
edge
of
the
city.
The
crowd
tonight
is
mixed.
A
half-dozen
Nigerians,
all
friends
with
the
owner,
pressed
against
the
bar
ordering
drinks
and
shots
for
one
another
at
the
other
end
is
an
old
white
man
with
the
beard
drinking
slowly,
scattered
throughout
the
booths
and
tables
are
the
back?
Are
a
couple
dozen
young
white
kids,
the
first
to
live
in
this
neighborhood
in
30
years,
Kenneth
and
I
slide
into
a
booth
and
begin
to
drink.
C
Joseph
goes
to
the
back
of
the
barn,
puts
a
dollar
into
the
jukebox.
We've
been
waiting
for
this
moment
to
one
degree
or
another
since
our
first
night,
for
since
our
first
drink
of
the
night,
it
takes
about
15
minutes
before
the
song
begins
and
with
the
first
quart
we
raise
our
glasses
and
toast
when
the
refrain
starts.
The
three
of
us
lean
forward
and
sing
along,
but
she
won't
fool
the
children
of
the
revolution.
C
No,
you
won't
fool
the
children
of
the
revolution
over
and
over
until
the
song
ends,
by
which
point
we've
all
finished
our
drinks
and
are
ready
for
another.
The
first
time
we
heard
that
song,
we
were
sitting
two
booths
farther
back.
We
still
worked
at
the
Capitol
Hotel
Joe,
Joseph
and
Kenneth
were
sharing
an
apartment.
Just
a
few
blocks
away.
The
song
played
and
Joseph
stood
up
and
drunkenly
declared.
That
is
us.
We
are
the
children
of
the
revolution.
C
His
accent
was
heavier
than
waited
with
tinges
of
French
that
struggled
under
a
formal
locution
to
come
through.
It
took
him
several
tries
before
we
understood
what
he
was
saying.
Each
attempt
punctuated
by
emphatic
thrust
toward
the
air
holding
the
music
and
in
holding
the
music
holding
Joseph
as
well.
C
When
we
finally
did
understand
him,
Kenneth
and
I
stood
up
and
together
the
three
of
us
nodded
our
heads
to
the
words
we
barely
understood
the
refrain
repeating
its
unintended
sympathies
over
and
over
now,
when
the
song
is
over,
it's
hard,
not
to
laugh
at
our
misplaced
enthusiasm.
We
had
been
in
America
for
only
a
couple
of
years
when
we
first
heard
it,
and
we
did
believe
that
we
were
children
of
a
revolution
and
not
only
because
we
were
willing
to
be
grand.
We
all
had
stories
of
families
we
missed
and
would
never
see
again.
C
C
Yeah
they're,
all
I,
didn't
necessarily
know
they
were
all
connected
when
I
began.
Writing
them.
You
know,
beautiful
things
is,
is
is
told
from
the
point
of
view
of
a
young
man,
who's
migrated
to
America
as
a
teenager
and
how
to
read.
The
air
is
told
from
the
point
for
multiple
points
of
view,
but
the
dominant
one
is
from
the
point
of
view
of
a
young
man
born
inside
of
America,
with
this
legacy
of
Africa
behind
him
and
the
third
novel,
which
is
just
being
wrapped
up
now,
takes
place
again.
C
I've
decided
the
idea
of
convergence
right
this
way
in
which
we
tend
to
think
of
our
country's
histories
as
being
very
disparate
and
very
distinct
from
other
nations,
and
yet,
at
the
same
time
there
are
these
interesting
points
of
a
collision
that
can
happen
in
history
and
so
around
in
the
late
1960s.
At
the
same
time
that
you
have
a
lot
of
Independence
happening
throughout
the
content,
yeah
you
got
to
becoming
independent
in
1962
1963.
You
have
Martin
Luther
King,
giving
the
I
dream
speech
from
the
Washington
Monument.
C
You
have
this
sort
of
great
surge
of
hope
and
optimism
across
both
countries,
at
the
same
time,
all
of
which
begins
to
sort
of
collapse
under
what
happens
in
the
years
immediately
afterwards.
So
and
you
have
the
sort
of
problems
that
arise
from
the
Vietnam
War,
you
have
the
death
of
Martin,
Luther
King
and
the
race
riots.
C
Just
after
just
after
released,
we
stopped
dreaming
a
certain
degree,
we're
kind,
of
course,
to
look
at
where,
where
we
were-
and
so
the
first
part
takes
place
in
the
point
from
the
point
of
view,
a
couple
of
young
men
who
are
who
want
to
be
students
who
are
sort
of
dreaming
of
becoming
students
inside
of
what
would
be
Meharry
University
in
Kampala
and
never
get
there,
of
course,
because
otherwise
it
wouldn't
be
a
novel.
It's
like.
C
C
E
E
C
You
know
always
because
like
because
I
can
never
really
write
short,
like
I've,
never
been
able
to
write
a
good
short
story
which
would
be
greater
because
that
gives
you
a
chance
to
sort
of
to
get
a
lot
of
things
out
in
different
forms,
different
mediums.
It
doesn't
take
three
to
four
years
out
of
your
life.
So
all
the
novels
I've
been
writing
recently.
If
they've
all
have
actually
the
next
one
has
begun
before
the
first
one
was
over.
C
So
while
this
one
was
almost
done,
writing
the
second
one
kind
of
began
as
it
started
gestating
in
my
head,
and
so
I
was
writing
that
quietly
bit
by
bit,
but
without
any
sense
of
urgency,
because
I
was
still
finishing
up
the
first
one
and
now
the
third
one
began.
You
know
in
the
middle
of
the
night,
while
I
was
in
the
process
of
doing
that,
it's
on
the
second
one.
B
The
novel
is
what
I
guess
I
think
of
as
nonlinear.
It
jumps
back
and
forth
in
time,
and
it
works
very
well
to
me
in
this
novel
and
some
it
doesn't.
This
is
the
first
time
I've
had
a
chance
to
ask
an
author
about
that
technique.
Was
it
something
conscious
that
you
decided
to
structure
it
that
way,
or
did
it
just
work
out
that
way
or
how
did
how
does
that
process
work?
It.
C
Was
it
was,
it
was
very,
very
conscious,
I've,
never
I've
tended
to
have
a
very
big
constraints
about
the
structural
forms
of
that
novels.
Taking
that
as
much
as
possible,
your
structure
just
should
try
to
mirror
your
relationship
to
reality,
and
in
this
particular
case
the
characters
are
are
deeply
tied
to
their
past
and
so
that
sort
of
oscillation
between
past
and
present
I
think
kind
of
better
reflects
our
experiences.
The
past
is
kind
of
constantly
intruding.
On
our
present
moment,
it's
constantly
interrupting
our
present
lives.
C
Every
time
we're
in
the
present
moment,
we're
always
being
reminded
of
something
from
our
from
our
past
and
so
I
wanted
the
structure
of
the
novel
to
be
able
to
mirror
that
sort
of
dynamic
relationship
between
past
and
present
very
much.
You
know
I
think
we're
always
in
conversation
with
our
personal
history
and
so
we're
always
trying
to
engage
our
past
in
order
to
understand
how
to
move
forward
in
our
lives
and
part
of
the
narrator's
frustration
with
his
problems
that
he's
never
really
engaged
his
past.
C
J
K
About
audiences,
you
never
think
of
your
audience.
When
you
write
a
book,
I
assume
you
don't
most
people
don't,
but
if
you
know
I'm
thinking
about
you,
Junot
Diaz,
at
which
danticat
others,
who
were
kind
of
you
know
seen
here
as
authors
who
illuminates
the
immigrant
experience
in
this
American
context,
a
young
man
in
Ethiopia.
If
he
picked
up
this
book
or
woman
and
read
it,
what
piece
would
they
find?
Do
you
think
like?
What
would
they
connect
to
in
the
industries
that
you
write?
I
mean.
C
I've
heard
a
lot
I
mean
I've
spoken
to
audiences,
in
Ethiopia,
and
and
I
received
lots
of
Facebook
messages
from
from
people
inside
of
Yukio
Pia
about
how
they
response
to
begin,
and
they
tend
to
be
quite
warm
I.
Think
a
lot
of
them
are
surprised
that
they
seem
to
feel
like
I'm,
offering
a
very
pessimistic
portrayal
of
life
in
America,
which
oftentimes
is
a
response
that
I
hear,
especially
when
I'm
outside
of
outside
of
this
country
and
which
I
don't,
which
is
not
at
all
my
intense
right.
C
It's
not
to
be
pessimistic
about
America
by
any
means.
It's
just
to
sort
of
argue
that
that's
that
it's
oftentimes
from
the
outside
we
have
these.
You
know
we
still
think
of
America,
as
in
such
great
grand
terms
of
enormous
possibility
of
everyone
has
wealth,
and
we
forget
the
kind
of
struggles
that
really
all
most
people
in
this
country
have
to
go
through,
regardless
of
whether
they're
migrants
or
not.
C
Obviously,
you
can
see
the
way
our
economy
has
been
functioning,
that
we
have
a
lot
of
people
who
are
having
a
very
hard
time
in
this
country
and
who
have
had
very
hard
time
in
this
country
for
a
long
time,
so
I
think
part
of
it
is
I,
think
they're
they're
interested
in
engaged
by
that
and
at
the
same
time
it's
true.
You
know,
you've,
never
I
would
say
that
I,
never
think
of
my
audience,
because
they're
all
so
you're
writing
literary
fiction.
C
They
didn't
live
in
any
particular
real
city
in
the
world,
because
I
didn't
know
how
did
I
was
afraid
to
give
them
the
specificity
that
had
any
relationship
to
my
own
life,
and
so
when
I
first
began.
Writing
this
novel
and
I
remember
very
clearly
writing
safest
Stefano's,
which
is
a
name
my
grandfather
wanted
to
give
to
me.
I
was
acutely
aware
of
putting
this
name
into
a
novel
that
was
a
novel.
C
There
was
a
name
that
had
a
residence
inside
of
Ethiopia
all
the
characters
or
have
names
that
are
based
from
members
of
my
family
and
that
you're
bringing
these
characters
into
into
this
like
American,
literary
landscape
and
you're.
Not
you're
kind
of
anxious
about
whether
or
not
they
belong.
It's
not
so
much,
not
thinking
of
the
particular
readers,
but
you
are
thinking
about
the
kind
of
cultural
reception.
A
C
Know
people
sit
up
I,
would
a
little
girl
want
to
read
that
and
it's
true
that
little
girl
probably
doesn't
want
to
read
it,
but
she
wants
to
read
it
because
it's
a
big
book.
You
know
that's
really.
What
brings
her
to.
That
is
because
she
wants
to
keep
this
man
with
her
for
as
long
as
possible
and
here's
the
way
of
doing
it.
C
Here's
a
very
big
novel
and
then
also
personally,
because
because
I
love
that
I
love
that
novel
and
the
way
that
novel
ends,
you
always
always
kind
of
skeptical
about
novels
that
offer
you
sort
of
really
beautiful
resolutions,
and
yet
that
novel
ends
on
such
a
moment
of
grace
and
beauty
that
I
wanted
to
find
some
way
of
just
bringing
that
back
into
this
into
the
story.
So.
C
C
B
C
Becomes
slightly
frustrating
is,
is
someone
like
me
or
other
writers
who
live
in
the
Diaspora?
We
shouldn't
be
saying
as
many
things
that
we
do
say
about
about
about
a
Content
at
this
large
and
I've
done
a
lot
of
work
as
a
journalist
in
Africa,
I,
think
I
know
a
fair
amount
about
it
and
I've
traveled
across
the
country,
the
continent
in
many
ways,
but
at
the
same
time,
because
that
voice
is
still
coming
by
an
arse
from
the
outside,
just
because
I'm,
more,
perhaps
sensitive
to
it,
doesn't
make
it
any
less
outside.