A report on a book reading I attended as part of my university curriculum wasn't something I expected to share here. However, the book, its theme, and its emotional depth resonate with the focus of my blog. So, here it is:
Enough by Kimia Eslah: A ‘Short’ Report
“Go and take everything and throw it away…But I will use my voice…”[1]
Inspired by Professor Aimée Morisson’s lectures, I am attempting to find my voice in academic writing. The report, which maintains a middle ground between a rigorous assignment and a somewhat personal narrative, I believe offers a safe space to experiment—not that I'm particularly keen on playing it safe, but you know how it is! Also, the essence of Eslah’s novel lies precisely in the fact that I cannot discuss it without incorporating the ‘I’s and ‘Me’s that academic writing often seeks to scrub away. With that clarification of my writing approach, here is an unapologetic attempt to break away from the academic traditions and offer an account of the event.
Often, people are disciplined in their lives; to state it better, they read the book before attending its reading. However, I did not follow suit! The title, "Enough," struck me as “Ah… the same old 'I am enough' theme,” -- my immediate reaction, and I expected to encounter a solemn and dour person. But, blimey! I was surprised to find a funny and energetic young lady at the podium, holding her book and offering insights into how her journey as a writer has been so far. Oh! I spaced on mentioning, that Professor Tristanne gave a warm welcome and did a quick intro of the author (apologies for the jumbled sequence; memory isn't always linear, as we know). Returning to the author, she provided a brief introduction to the book. According to her, the book revolves around “real women and real people,” where “the characters are shaped by their own struggles and maintain a skeptical view of the world”. She also described the book as a “corporate drama,” with Toronto serving as its setting. Kimia explains that the story circles around three women narrators, each of whom is a woman of color and is in a different phase of life. She began her reading with an excerpt from Sameera’s story, one of the three women characters, and moved on to Goldie’s. Her reading revealed the complexities of these characters, their daily struggle against racism, sexism, and all the -isms you can think of. I have read about a million (slightly fewer) books on racism, but nothing has felt more real or closer to my own life and experiences than this book. When she stopped, I can’t quite explain what I felt, it felt like something in my mind and body, suddenly ran loose. My brain and body experienced a sense of relief, and my lungs expanded more freely. I felt a deep connection to Sameera and Goldie; their pain seemed strangely familiar. Contrary to my usual tendency to dismiss incidents, my inner experiences manifested and nodded in agreement, even more than I did. Seeing before my eyes a person whose stories are shaped by her own encounters with racism made me feel like “Oh, she knows it!!” This excitement was also because not many people share their stories; many deny it, many would ask you to toughen up, and many to move on. Thus, the vulnerability of her characters, and through them, the writer, built an immediate connection.
I will now briefly highlight the key moments (note: I'm not very good at being brief). After she summed up and while I was experiencing all those bodily sensations, somehow, we transitioned into the Q&A session. Kimia was glowing with excitement to hear our questions and goodness! I was too. I burst out at the first chance, telling her how much I vibed with her characters. That led to discussions on some well-known but often not spoken-of topics like structural racism – you know, where a white grad student gets the hookup because their dad knows someone who knows someone. Been there, done that, just like Kimia and a bunch of other immigrants. Then we discussed “colour-blindness” – “Oh! I don’t see colour, I don’t see race” and that's when I had to bring up one of my all-time favorite reads, Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race. So, I jumped in with my take: Being color-blind isn't the fix. What's important is recognizing differences and making room for them. That's the real deal.
Another enthusiastic participant threw out a bomb of a question about Kimia's experience in publishing this book. ‘It was not easy’, she said and added that, unlike other books, she doesn't paint a rosy picture of Toronto or portray Iran as some exotic place. She's not making kebabs and aromatic tea sound romantic just for white readers to enjoy from afar – she's really stirring things up! The event ended with another participant chatting about her own journey as a Middle Eastern immigrant, touching on how people's worth seems to be tied to how close their skin tone is to whiteness.
Overall, it was an amazing evening for me, and I walked out feeling less lonely in this system!
P.S. – If you have a minute, once you've finished skimming through this extended three-page report, feel free to read my favourite excerpt from Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race.
“Not seeing race does little to deconstruct racist structures or materially improve the conditions which people of colour are subject to daily. In order to dismantle unjust, racist structures we must see race. We must see who benefits from their race, who is disproportionately impacted by negative stereotypes about their race, and to who power and privilege is bestowed upon – earned or not – because of their race, their class, and their gender. Seeing race is essential to changing the system.” (I don't have the book on hand, so I can't give you the page number. This snippet is from my trusty notebook where I jot down all my favorite bits from the books I've read).
Eddo-Lodge, Reni. Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022.
[1] Song by Evanescence : a must-listen.
theartofmadeline
baratheonpilled
annaxmalina
romaincrisis
turnnoffyourmind
