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 Many
successful novelists have their trial runs in fiction by writing
short stories, and it is often only after notoriety that they draw
enough interest to publish their works. This collection of short
stories, Coloured Lights, is only Leila Aboulela’s second set of
published works. It is quite an impressive achievement for a
newcomer - not to mention the fact that she won the “African
Booker” - the Caine Prize for African Writing, for one of these
short stories, The Museum. Her first novel, The Translator,
received wide critical acclaim.
The stories in Coloured Lights reflect the complexities of Muslim
immigrant life in a foreign and alien society. In some ways this
anthology takes us steps further than The Translator in portraying
life in Sudan and life for the foreigner in Britain. The writer
also shows an understanding of the Scottish people who feature as
some of the main characters in her stories. The last two stories,
however, have a more mystical theme, with one of them, Days
Rotate, being probably the first Muslim, science fiction story
published in English.
But what is probably exceptional about this collection is the
writer’s truthfulness and intrepidity in speaking frankly about
the downside of many Muslims, and she does so without moralizing.
Alcoholism, discrimination, materialism, “marrying for the
visa,” and plain lack of faith are some of the faults affecting
the characters. In contrast, there are many strong and positive
figures.
The Ostrich is a moving story set in London and Khartoum. The
protagonist, Sumra, is a Sudanese woman who returns to her
husband, Majdy, in London after a two-month break in Sudan.
Dressed in traditional Sudanese attire, she faces her husband’s
censure upon arrival - with Majdy saying things like, “You look
like something from the Third World.” Almost instantly she
plunges into the diffidence associated with her life as a
foreigner: a woman who is lonely, bored, and living in the shadow
of a studious, self-centered husband. He often grotesquely
belittles her for not assimilating Western ideals. Sumra surmises
his thoughts and intentions, which often lead to phrases like,
“They can forgive you for your ugly color, your thick lips and
rough hair, but you must think modern thoughts, be like them in
the inside if you can’t be from the outside.”
Despite the verbal and physical abuse, Sumra is intact as far as
her identity is concerned. It is Majdy who is confused and lacking
in confidence. He praises a country that is more advanced than
Sudan, yet he suffers from racism: both hidden and blatant.
But Sumra has her own thoughts and her own secrets. Throughout the
initial days of her return, she reminisces over her past and the
choices she made; her thoughts turning towards an old colleague.
She calls him the “Ostrich” because of the similitude of his
gait to the bird. She recalls his crude manners and hilarious wit,
his pathetic handicap and sharp intelligence. But it is the
harshness she once displayed towards him - a misfit in his own
country - that strikes a cord within her. She recoils from those
memories of the past with regret and reflects upon her present
situation – recognizing the subtle irony.
Aboulela entwines many forms of discrimination, psychological
unrest and levels of faith into the few pages of the short
stories. The Ostrich is a moving story of being “out of place”
both at home and abroad. On the one hand, being black in the
Britain and being handicapped in Sudan are the obvious physical
differences that unfold in discrimination. On the other hand,
having attitudes that are irreconcilable between Western and
Eastern cultures, and the physically handicapped struggling for
intellectual recognition are the more intangible differences.
There is, however, a touching and poignant episode of a
congregational prayer, which depicts a harmony between all people
– be they rich or poor, young or old, educated or illiterate.
The prize-winning story, The Museum, is set in Aberdeen. Intent on
completing her degree as a ticket for marriage, the key character,
Shadia, leaves behind Sudan, her family, and her rich,
upper-middle class fiancé. She is one of many foreign students
struggling with their studies. She battles the biting cold,
unfamiliarity, loneliness, and a language that she thought she had
mastered until she hears the local dialect of North East Scotland.
Scottish student Bryan - decked out with an earring and a ponytail
– passed with distinction the previous year, and his help seems
to be the only thing that will keep her from failing her exams.
But Shadia has a problem asking help of someone she considers an
oddity; convincing herself that she is probably more distinguished
than he is. Humbled, but intensely humiliated, she asks if she can
borrow his notes and he obliges indifferently. Shadia is caught by
surprise in the next lecture when he asks her to go for a coffee
and later to meet at the museum. But Bryan does not seem to be the
person she first envisaged. He is serious, polite, and most of all
looking for “ the truth.” Shadia misses out on the opportunity
to help enlighten Bryan, as she is guilty and confused by her own
devious actions.
Aboulela raises the aspect of misconceptions in this story, which
is one of the main stumbling blocks in cultural and racial
harmony. Instead of the obvious paradigm, where the overseas
student is at the receiving end of discrimination (although this
kind of racism is present in the story), there is a focus on the
foreigner who has preconceived notions of his/her hosts. This is
further explored when Shadia actually believes that any man who
can “look like a woman” must be weird. She assumes that Bryan
will be adverse to Islam but finds out that he longs to understand
it and is willing to change. She slowly realizes that she
understands so little about Islam herself, and is too weak to help
him.
“If she was strong she would have explained and not tired of
explaining. She would have patiently taught him another language,
letters curved like the epsilon and the gamma he knew from
mathematics. She would have shown him that words could be read
from left to right. If she was not small in the museum, if she was
really strong, she would have made his trip to Mecca real, not
only in a book.”
One wonders how many times non-Muslims have asked to know more
about Islam and been faced with blank stares or complementary
platitudes? Aboulela is brave enough to show that even a
“born-Muslim” can be a spiritual vacuum, unable to respond
his/her own mind and soul, never mind those of others.’
Coloured Lights is superb collection in gentle and moving prose.
It is a pity that our acquaintance with each character is so
brief. One wants each story to go on and on. This book is a
comfort to converts and Muslims living in the West. It is
certainly an incentive for any aspiring Muslim novelist
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